Dawsey family series (AEJ&E)
by Justicerocks
Summary: A series of mostly one-shots revolving around Gabby and Matt and their children as the children grow up.
1. Field trip to IKEA

**A\N:** Okay, so since there are a lot of stand alone one-shots in this series I've decided to merge them all into one story. This is a series of mostly stand-alone one-shots though. I apologize in advance for amount of emails you got if you have me as an author you get emailed updates for.

 **Disclaimer** **:** I don't own anything you recognize.

 **Spoilers:** None

 **Warinings:** None

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 **Field Trip to IKEA**

Carrying a tray with a cup of hot tea and a bagel with jam Matt was sure to step around any toys that may have been left on the floor. Even he though could not have imagined the little feet almost crashing into him as his two year old daughter cam running up behind him into the bedroom.

"Wait Mommy!" She exclaimed and then just as quickly as she had come she was gone out of the room again.

"Oh," Matt rolled his eyes and chuckled at his daughter's energy level, "You want me to stay home today?" He placed the tray in front of his wife and kissed her.

"No, no its fine," Gabby gratefully took a sip of the tea, "It's just morning sickness. I should be okay; besides the sooner we move into the house the better.

He nodded in agreement. Their two bedroom apartment was fine for them when they had bought it and even when their first child, now four was born. But now with two children four and two and the youngest still sleeping in their room they felt they needed a change. They purchased a four-bedroom house in a neighbourhood not far from where they were now and were going to start renovating it during the summer. That was before they had found out that they were pregnant again.

"Mommy," Two-year-old Ellie bonded back into the room wearing her white doctor's coat, stethoscope and carrying her doctor's bag, "I'm here." She announced proudly and scrambled onto the bed.

"Oh," She looked at her daughter with great interest, "Are you going to make we all better."

"Uh-huh!" She declared and put the stethoscope on her still small stomach, "Baby's fine," She announced after only seconds and then moved it up to her mother's stomach and to her chest, "Mommy's sick," She looked at her father.

Matt tried but failed to keep in his laugh. Elisabeth, or Ellie for short was a little bundle of energy and hadn't stopped walking or talking since she learned how. She also looked identical to her mother and had inherited no seeable traits from him. Truth be told however Matt would say he was perfectly okay with that as he had always pictured them having a little girl exactly like Ellie.

"Daddy!" She pouted and crossed her arms, "Mommy sick."

"I know baby, you can help me make Mommy all better."

"No!" She frowned, "Me do."

"You're going to make her better?"

"Yes!"

"Babe if you want to take Andy to IKEA with you I can watch Ellie."

"I'm sure he'll be up for that," He said and walked back out of the room and into the toy cluttered living area where four-year-old Andy was busy at his tool bench while he watched TV.

"Hey bud wanna go with me to IKEA?" He asked.

As if he had been given a million dollars Andy's head around and he shot up like a light, "Can I?" His green eyes lit up his entire house, "Can I?"

"Of course you can buddy. We need to get things for the new house. Maybe we can go to Home Depot too."

"Yay!" He cheered happily and raced back to his play workbench, he grabbed a hardhat and tool belt and came back to his father, "I'm all ready Daddy."

Smiling down at the young boy Matt picked him up, "You sure are. Lets go show Mommy and Ellie."

"Okay Daddy," He agreed and Matt carried him back into the master bedroom where Ellie was currently taking Gabby's temperature.

"Well there's my big boy," Gabby looked at Andy, "You all set to help Daddy today?"

"Yep," He grinned.

Gabby smiled up at the two. Just like Ellie was a miniature version of her Andrew or as he was more commonly referred to 'Andy' had inherited all of Matt's features. Right down to his quick temper which got him into a far amount of trouble when ne decided to hurt his younger sister.

"You be good for Daddy," She looked at him.

"Okay Mommy."

"You sure you don't want me to take Ellie too?" Matt asked his wife.

"NO!" Both Ellie and Andy exclaimed at the same time.

"The jury has spoken Matt," Gabby laughed, "We'll be fine really. Just going to have a nice relaxing day right baby?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded her head, "Here," She handed her a piece of paper she had scribbled on, "You're medicine," She declared.

"Okay well I'll leave you to alone then," Matt blew kisses to them both and produced to carry Andy out to his truck. He helped him up the steps and made sure he was properly in the booster seat before closing the door and walking to the driver's side.

Since IKEA was further away then Home Depot he decided to go there first, so he got on the highway and turned to look at his son who was looking out the window, "You can help me find what we need alright bud. Mommy and I already know we need some storage cabinets and some lights and bookcases. I think though you can pick out some new furniture for your new room, it's going to be bigger then the one you have now."

"I want a big toy chest!" He exclaimed, "Keep all my toys in my room." He said, as he hated it when Ellie touched any of his 'big boy' toys.

"We can get you one of those Andy," Matt told his son and before either of them knew it they had arrived at IKEA. Considering it was a Saturday it was quite busy so Matt had to park far away from the store. Taking Andy's hand to go across the parking lot he walked into the store, "You need to stay with me Andy. No going off okay. It's busy and you could get lost."

"Okay Daddy," He agreed. "I don't want to go to the daycare," He spoke of the child watching service IKEA provided.

"I know buddy."

"Good," Andy walked with his father and looked around the store marveling at all it had. He had been to IKEA before but he was younger and he didn't remember it at all. He was so in awe of everything.

"Want these buddy" Matt handed him a pencil, a ruler and a fourm to mark products on.

"Uh-huh," He smiled and took the items, feeling proud as Matt also grabbed the same items for himself.

They walked into the Living room section and Matt began looking around. They had seen a nice cabinet that looked like the one they had built in to their living room now.

Seeing it he knelt down and began checking the measurements making absolutely sure that it would fit in the location they wanted it to be put.

"What are you doing Daddy?"

"I'm making sure this cabinet will fit into our new living room," He explained as he marked down the product number and which bin and aisle to find it in.

"Oh," Andy looked at his own measuring tape and said, "I'll do that too."

"You can take charge once we get to the children's section alright?" He ruffled the boy's hair and took his hand again.

They went to look at new bathroom storage and furniture as the children would now have their own bathroom. They wanted storage low to the ground that would provide more opportunities for them to be independent.

"How about this Andy? You like this?" Matt looked at a double sink with a dark brown trim, "You can have your own sink," He knew Andy wouldn't realize that this would be easier at bedtime children ready for bed with only one small sink in a bathroom.

"No yucky pink stuff?" He asked. Ellie had pink Disney Princess inspired toothpaste.

"Nope."

"Good."

They finished up in the washroom, section and then went over to the children's section, "Alright buddy now you already have a bed so you just need some more storage for all your toys and table a table or something.

"But Ellie gets a new bed?" He pouted.

"Yes but Ellie needs a big girl bed you already have a big boy bed."

If Andy was upset it only lasted s second as he was soon drawn to all of the different cabinets and drawers he could choose from.

"I like that!" He pointed to a white and green storage combination set. He then proceeded to walk towards it and he took out his measuring tape and copied what his father had done to other products.

Knowing Gabby needs to see this he sent her a quick text asking her to Facetime with him, soon she called him via the app.

"Hey babe, look at what our son is doing," He turned the phone so she was able to see Andy. He was currently tapping the pencil to his chin and scribbling down information on his piece of paper. He looked at the tag for the price and product information like Matt had and studied it. He didn't even notice his mother on the video feed as he turned to look back at his father.

"That's cute," Gabby said as Matt turned the phone back around, "He's a regular mini you."

"Uh-huh, and how's the doctor doing?"

"Oh Dr. Ellie is currently sleeping. She's taking a break after working a long shift. Apparently she had a very difficult patient," She laughed at the memory of her daughter informing her she was hard to look after.

"Our kids," Matt shook his head and chuckled with her, "Anyways I think I'll just get a few things we need and grab lunch here, then we should be home. I think coming to Home Depot would be to overwhelming for Andy.

"Well let me know," She smiled and ended the call.

Putting us phone back in his pocket Matt turned his attention back to Andy who was currently opening all of the drawers and inspecting them.

"Well," Matt walked up to him, "What do you think? Do you think we should get it?"

"I like it but the blue isn't good."

"Oh really? Well let's look at what other colours in comes in." He showed him the list of colours, and pictures.

"I like that one," He pointed to a simple wooden brown one, "Like your work bench."

"Okay buddy we can get this."

"Yay!" He cheered happily.

Matt smiled and he looked at the unit and did a quick measurement to make sure it would fit along a wall in Andy's new room. It would and despite the fact that it was a little more then he and Gabby wanted to pay for a storage cabinet he knew that Andy would get plenty of use out of it over the years. Plus, he really didn't know how to say no to him, as he was so excited about getting it.

After looking at some possible beds for Ellie and finding one that would suit her now and as she got older Matt decided it was time for lunch. They walked into the cafeteria and ordered. After they ate Matt led them down into the storage where house and got a cart and began collecting all of the items they needed.

"Can I help you put these together?" Andy asked hopefully.

"You sure can buddy. Diego offered to come and help too. How would you like that?" Diego was thirteen years old and Andy was hero-struck every time they were in the same room.

"YES!" He screamed excitedly, "He can see I can help!" He grinned happily of the idea of his thirteen-year-old cousin seeing he was a 'big boy' "Because in September I go to big school."

"That's right bud," Matt smiled,"Now how about we load all of this stuff into the truck and then come back and get an ice cream.

Andy nodded his head and he walked with his father as they headed back towards the truck, "Let me help Daddy!" He said as Matt opened the back of the truck and began loading the items in.

"Okay bud you can hold the cart so it doesn't roll away."

"Oh boy!" He cheered happily and proudly held onto the cart."

The truck all loaded up Matt and Andy walked back into IKEA to get some ice cream, then they went home.

 **TBC**

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 **A\N:** Please review.


	2. Ellie's Day with Mommy

**A\N:** This take place in the same day as the previous one-shot but its how Ellie spent her day with Gabby.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own anything

 **Spoilers:** None

 **Warinings:** None

* * *

 **Ellie's Day with Mommy**

Once Matt and Andy had left the house Ellie too the fake thermometer out of her mother's mouth and studied it. "A billion," She showed it to Gabby, "Very sick," She kissed her forehead as she crawled over her and off the bed, "Stay here." She ordered her and ran out of the room again. She returned with her favourite stuffed teddy and a pile of books.

"Are these for me or you?" Gabby asked her daughter.

"You. Stay here," She repeated and walked out of the room.

Chuckling Gabby did stay in bed until she heard noise coming like pots and pans banging around. Knowing that meant Ellie was doing something she shouldn't be doing she went to investigate. When she got into the kitchen she discovered the refrigerator opened and Ellie looking through the low cabinet doors for something. Walking to the fridge she closed the door.

"Ellie you know you need to ask Mommy or Daddy if you want a snack."

"No Mommy!" The toddler spun around, "You sick! Bed! Bed!" She crossed her arms and stared at her, "Bed!"

"Ellie what are you doing?" She asked, hoping her daughter would at least answer.

"PB&J and orna jucicy," She replied. "For you."

Gabby knew her daughter was fiercely independent and would be doing this whether she helped her or not. Over the years she had learned that you had to pick your battles especially when it came to Ellie.

"That's very nice of you sweetie. Can I help you get some plates and glasses down?"

"Oday, then bed."

"Yes Dr. Ellie," She got down the needed items and placed them on the kitchen table along with a plastic safe knife and said, "Use this knife."

"Oday Mommy," Ellie agreed and then looked at her, "Bed!"

"Okay, okay I'm going," Gabby raised her hands and left the room.

Once she had left Ellie walked to the table and climbed up into her booster seat. She opened the bottle of Jam and Peanut Butter and then took out two slices of bread. She tried to use the knife to get out the jam but it kept slipping. She decided then to sue her hands. After all she washed them all the time anyways.

"Fun," She smiled and put her hands into the jar and then spread it onto all four pieces of bread. Next she did the same with the peanut butter. She also covered the top and bottom pieces of bread with peanut butter and jam. Licking the remains off her hands she placed two pieces together and put it onto a plate. Then she repeated the action with the other two pieces.

"Now juicy," She reached for the orange juice but it spilled all over the table and onto the floor, "Oh no!" She threw her hands to her face and scrambled onto the floor and ran to the counter and reached up for the paper towels she grabbed onto the end of one and pulled it. She kept pulling as she dragged the paper towels over to the spill and accidently had caused the entire roll to unravel.

She cleaned the mess up as best as she could and then poured the rest of the juice into two cups. She carried a plate with a sandwich into the bedroom and proudly showed her mother, "Look!" She handed her the plate.

"Oh," Gabby looked at the two pieces of bread covered in jam and peanut butter. She took a bite out of it and said, "Very tasty."

Ellie smiled and raced out of the room. "Oh," Gabby shook her head, "I wonder if I was like that when I was younger," She asked herself and made a mental note to ask her parents the next time they talked.

Ellie came back into the room with two glasses of juice and handed one to her. The juice was okay and Gabby was actually grateful her daughter had gotten it for her. She however dreaded seeing the state of her kitchen and stood up to see the damage.

"NO!" Ellie shrieked "NO!"

"Ellie inside voice," Gabby looked at her sternly.

"Mommy sick," She grabbed her and tried to pull her down again.

"Oh baby Mommy's feeling better now."

"No," She shook her head, "No."

"Ellie Mommy had things to do," She told her daughter.

"Me do!" Ellie jumped off the bed again. She raced into the small laundry area and opened the dryer she then proceeded to pull out all of the dry clothes and dump them into a laundry basket. Then she dragged it into the living room where she sat down on the floor with it and dumped it out.

Walking behind her Gabby was amazed at how much of it was of a similar nature to what she had done before. She usually put the clothes into a laundry bin and carried it into the living room where she could sort the clothes and fold them while she kept an eye on Andy and Ellie.

"Mommy's, Ellie's…." Gabby snapped out of her thoughts and saw Ellie picked up each item and looking at it speaking aloud the owner of the item and putting it into a pile. Again the piles being what she did to sort the laundry.

"Bed," Ellie looked up at her and frowned. "Go bed."

"How about I lay on the couch?" She asked.

She frowned, "Mommy's hard anet," She declared.

"Oh really?" She laughed, "You think I'm a hard patient."

"Yes! Lay down!" Ellie nodded pointed to the couch.

"Yes Ma'am," Gabby went to the couch and lay down. To make her daughter happy she even closed her eyes and was soon asleep. She woke up to multiple piles of clothes on the living room floor. "Ellie?" She questioned her daughter who was sitting in the middle of it still sorting.

"Mommy all better?"

"No, Mommy wants to know what happened?" She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"I'm sorting Mommy."

"I know that sweetie but all of these clothes weren't in the laundry room.

"No," She shook her head, "Mine," She pointed to a pile of clothes, ones Gabby remembered seeing in one of the drawers the used to keep her clothes in.

"Ellie did you dump out the drawers and laundry bins of clothes."

"Yes," She smiled, "Wash them."

"What?" She winded her eyes, "You washed them?"

"Come Mommy!" She smiled and stood up and led her mother into the washroom. She had put some of her shirts in the sink and turned the water on.

"Ellie it's overflowing," Gabby rushed to turn the water off, "Why'd you do that?"

"I'm helping,"

Looking at her watch Gabby saw that it was almost twelve o'clock, "Lets make you some lunch," She reached for her daughter's hand.

"My sandwich," She ran with her wet socked feet out of the bathroom and into the kitchen where she climbed up on her chair and began eating the sandwich she ha made for herself.

Following her into the kitchen Gabby knew she'd have a lot of work to do when Ellie was asleep. Ellie ate her sandwich and drank some juice and then looked up at Gabby as she climbed down from her chair.

She was very tired, more tired then she usually was Gabby saw and she went to pick her up into her arms, Cradling her she said, "You did help Mommy today."

Ellie gave her a tired smile and held onto her tightly. "Love you," She sleepily kissed her cheek.

"I love you to sweetheart," Gabby kissed the top of her head. "I love you so much."

Laying her down on the big bed Gabby handed her, Kelly, her favourite stuffed bear and changed her diaper she then wrapped her up in the blankets. Holding her beloved bear tightly and sucking her thumb it didn't take Ellie long to fall asleep.

Walking quietly out of the bedroom Gabby's phone vibrated and she rushed to get it as it was still on the beside table, she looked at the text from Matt asking het to Facetime him and she walked out of the bedroom and did just that.

Andy was measuring a children's storage department and that's what Matt was showing her via Facetime. She smiled at the sight she just loved how Andy was very much like Matt. Seeing Matt turn the camera back onto himself she said, "He's a regular mini-you."

After telling him Ellie was sleeping he told her they'd be home soon and she hung up the phone and made her way into the kitchen. She began to clean it but stopped when she needed a break. Sitting at the kitchen table she realized how tired she was as well and remembered she had thought she was coming down with a flu bug before it was confirmed she was pregnant. Maybe she was still coming down with something. Figuring that was probably what it was she decided not to fight it and to go to sleep. She went back into her bedroom and crawled into bed next to Ellie.

"Mommy!" Ellie's face inches away from hers was what Gabby woke up to, "Mommy!" The little girl smiled.

"Hi baby," Gabby sat up and pulled her onto her lap, looking at the clock she saw it was nearly two and that Matt and Andy would be home soon.

"I'm up sweetie," She told the young girl and heard a car door close and just as quick Ellie went running off.

"Daddy! Daddy!" She shouted running towards the front door and when Matt walked in he picked her up, "How's my girl doing?" He kissed her cheek; it was then that he saw the state of the living room, "Ellie?" He looked at his daughter and then at his wife who was walking towards him.

"Mommy still sick!" Elle pointed at Gabby and frowned at her, "I'm mad!"

"See what I mean? Look at that look." She told him.

Matt laughed, "I know that look well Gabby. Do you know how many times you look at me like that when you're angry with me? She's your daughter Gabby through and through.

"Alright Ellie can you help Mommy put these clothes back."

"Oday," She nodded and Matt set her back on the ground.

 **TBC**

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 **A\N:** So, what did you think?


	3. Hot Summer Day

**A\N:** Here's the next one-shot in the series. It was published originally in December of 2014 so that Chicago Fire characters featured were current up to that point.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own anything

 **Spoilers:** None

* * *

 **Hot Summer Day**

Making his way down the hall and into the kitchen Matt smiled at the sight he saw. His family was sitting down at the table, Andy picking at his cereal and Gabby sitting beside Ellie watching as the toddler happily ate her cereal.

"Daddy!" Andy looked up and saw his father, an immediate smile on his face. He stood and raced over to him, "Look I'm not wearing a shirt," He exclaimed, as if proud he was half naked.

"I can see that. How come bud?"

"Because yesterday you saided that sometimes you don't wear a shirt." He proclaimed.

"Ah," Matt raised one eyebrow. Chicago was in the middle of a heat wave and yesterday while working on their new house he had worked most of the afternoon without a shirt. At dinner when talking about his day he mentioned it.

"It's seven o'clock and already ninety-eight outside. We're not going anywhere either," Gabby responded to her husband's surprised look.

Matt shrugged and picked his son up, "I'm okay with it," He walked towards the table and kissed Ellie's dark curls and then leaned down and kissed Gabby on the lips, "How're you two doing today?"

"No morning sickness so far," She said, "I'm hoping the baby will be good today. I need all the energy I can get looking after these two monkeys." She tickled each child's stomach with one hand, which caused the kitchen to quickly echoed with laughter.

"I'll call to check in when things seem slow," Matt promised. One thing he hated about his job was he was away for twenty-four hours at a time and that meant leaving Gabby alone with their children. Now he felt especially guilty as she had been having morning sickness and hadn't been feeling well. "You two be good for Mommy," He kissed Andy once more before placing the child on the ground and going to the cupboard to grab something quick for breakfast.

"Oday Daddy!" Ellie happily agreed, "I elp!"

"Good," Matt chuckled, then he turned serious as he looked at his son, "Andy you be nice and help too. I want you to be a good older brother, remember you're going to big school in September. At big school you need to be nice to all the children."

Andy usually didn't mean to hurt his baby sister, usually it was due to his quick temper but his parents wanted to make sure he learnt that violence was never the answer,

"Okay Daddy."

"Good boy. Now come over and give me a big kiss. I need to go to work early to do some paperwork.

Andy walked over to his farther and hugged him tightly, "Bye, Bye Daddy. I love you."

Matt kissed his blonde hair, "I love you too."

"Daddy wait!" Ellie called as Gabby helped her out of her high chair and she ran as fast as her little legs could carry her.

"Come here!" Matt scooped the two year old up and planted kisses all over her face, "I love you so much. You're my beautiful princess. You're just as beautiful as your Mommy."

Ellie giggled, "Daddy etty too," She repeated what she often told him and gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek, "Daddy clean," She touched his face, "No ichy."

"That's because Daddy shaved today," He looked at her, "Daddy likes to be nice and clean for work."

"Good," Ellie kissed him again and snuggled into him.

"Baby," Matt softly kissed her, "Daddy has to go to work," He tried to pass her off to Gabby but she clung tightly.

"Daddy no die," She looked up at him, "Daddy be safe."

Matt buried his head into her dark curls and kissed her, "Daddy will be as safe as he can," He muffled and he kissed her repeatedly.

When Andy was a little older then Ellie Matt and Gabby had decided to tell him the truth. In words he could understand that had explained that Matt had a dangerous job and that he could get hurt. Matt had made sure though that Andy knew how much he loved him and that he would do everything he could to come back to him and Gabby at the end of each shift.

Ellie, although she had only turned two a month before knew her Daddy could die and not come home to her. It seemed to be a common theme since her birthday that she'd not want him to leave.

"Baby I'm going to do my best to make sure I won't die," He kissed her one last time, "Now can I say bye to Mommy and your baby brother or sister?"

"Oday," She pouted, "One kissy"?

Matt kissed her hair and set her on the ground it was then he turned to his wife; He kissed her and held her tightly, "Have a good day. I'll see you tomorrow morning," He placed his hand over her small stomach and kissed her again, "You have no idea how much I love you Gabriela Casey."

"We love you too," She said.

Matt gave her one last quick kiss and grabbed his bag as he raced out the door.

"Okay," Gabby looked at both her children, "Lets clean up the kitchen and go outside while its still not very hot."

"Mommy," Andy whined, "Too hot!"

"I know bud but it's going to get even hotter later and I want you to get some outside time,"

She knew if she didn't get the kids outside for at least half an hour the day would be much slower as they would become very restless, "Now come put away your bowl and glass alright?"

Andy nodded and did what he was told. He then went to play.

"Alright my baby," Gabby lifted Ellie up and wetting a cloth down she whipped her face and hands, "Go and play nicely," She set her down once she was all clean.

Loading and starting the dishwasher Gabby got the sunscreen and the kids hats, "Andy come let me put some sun screen on you."

The little boy looked up from his toy trucks and frowned, "No Mommy!"

"Andy, don't argue with me. Come here," She looked at him sternly.

"No!" He picked up a toy car and lunched it across the room, it hit Ellie right in the eye and the toddler let out an ear-piercing scream.

"Andrew Liam Casey!" She angrily scolded him and rushed to console her crying daughter.

Knowing he was in trouble Andy looked down at the floor. He didn't say anything as Gabby tended to Ellie.

"It's a little red baby," Gabby saw the bruise, "Lets go find some ice," She carried her daughter into the kitchen and went to the freezer. She got out a child friendly lady bug ice pack and placed it over Ellie's eye."

"It cold!" She moved her head away.

"I know sweetheart but the ice will help make your eye feel all better."

Ellie snuggled into Gabby's arms, "Andy mean."

"Yes its not nice to hit," Gabby told her and carried her back into the living room where Andy had returned to playing.

"Here sweetie go play with this in Mommy and Daddy's bedroom," Gabby saw one of her favourite dolls and handed it to her.

Her doll in one hand and the ice pack in the other Ellie went off into her parent's bedroom.

"Andrew," Gabby stood with her arms crossed staring at her son, "Stand up an come over here."

Andy knew he was in trouble, he had known it the second he had let go of the toy. When it hit his sister he knew he'd be in even more trouble. "Mommy I-"

"Andy," Gabby interrupted him, "I know you don't mean to hurt your sister. It's not okay to throw toys though. You really need to think about things before you do them. We need to start working on that. I don't know what to say to help you understand."

Andy stood processing all the information his mother had given him. "I know its wrong."

"I know you do we just need to help you with that temper."

"I'm sorry Mommy."

"I know you sweetie but sometimes sorry isn't enough; you're old enough now to know that."

"Okay Mommy," He nodded, "I'll go and say sorry to Ellie," He stood up and walked towards his parent's bedroom Gabby following him. He reached the room and climbed up onto the bed beside his sister, "Ellie I'm sorry," He looked at her.

Ellie looked up at her older brother, "Me hurt."

"I know Ellie. I want to help."

"Play it me?"

"I'll play," He smiled and she took his hand and walked with him back towards the living room.

They never got outside but the rest of the morning went over pretty well. Andy and Ellie played nicely and Gabby was able to get some housework done. It wasn't until after Ellie had woken up from her nap that things seemed to go out of control.

Gabby was cleaning up the kitchen and making a list of groceries they'd need when she saw out of the corner of her eye Ellie bite Andy as he used some of her dolls as in his castle.

In seconds the boy was up and had grabbed her beloved teddy Kelly out of her arms.

"ANDY!" Ellie screamed as she chased her brother around, "MINE! MINE!" She sobbed as she tried to reach her teddy bear Kelly.

"Try and get it!" Andy held it above her reach and laughed.

"Andy," Gabby walked over and crossed her arms, "Give your sister back the bear."

Andy handed back the bear. "But she bited me," He complained.

"I know," Gabby bent down and looked at the bite mark on his arm, luckily it wasn't bleeding but it was bruised.

"Ellie," Gabby walked over to her daughter, "You do not bite."

The toddler frowned, "My toys." She pointed to her toys that Andy had been using.

"When Andy does something you don't like you use your big girl words."

"Norrie Mommy."

"You need to use big girl words. Big girls don't' bite. Now I know you're sorry. Go say you're sorry to your brother."

Ellie walked over to Andy "Norrie."

"I'm sorry," Andy told her back and then slumped to the ground, "I'm board!" He announced.

Gabby had expected that was the reason behind him teasing his sister, the truth was though she didn't know what to do with them. It was already over one hundred out and going outside even for a short while wasn't good for small children. They were restless though she knew, they had both been cooped up inside for two days and they needed to get out. Then it hit her. The firehouse. They hadn't been there in a long time. They'd be the centre of attention there and have no shortage of people to play with them. Maybe she and Matt could ever get away and go to his office for some time alone.

"Hey you two," She looked at her children a grin on her face, "How would you like to visit Daddy at work?"

"Yay!" They cheered happily.

"Mommy, Mommy can I ride the truck?" Andy jumped up and down excitedly. "Daddy's truck, Daddy's truck!" He ran around the room in a frenzy and collected a handful of things he threw into a bag.

"Only if you're very good," Gabby warned him, "Daddy won't be very happy you threw a toy at your sister."

Andy stopped, "Don't tell him!"

"I'm sorry Andy Daddy needs to know when you're not a good boy. But if you're a good boy in the car and when we're there maybe he'll let you sit in the truck.

"I'll be good! He promised. He put on his backpack and went to get his shoes on.

"Go get a t-shirt and put it on," Gabby called after him and he tuned and walked towards his bedroom.

"Unca Leeely," Ellie cheered happily as Gabby picked her up, "Yay! Yay!"

Gabby laughed, for some reason ever since she was a small baby Ellie had loved Kelly Severide. She always hated seeing him leave whenever he came around and was jealous of any girlfriends he had. She assumed he only loved her as he often referred to her as his 'little girlfriend'

"Yes sweetheart Uncle Kelly will be there. Now lets go and you some diapers and wipes." She carried her into the master bedroom where the change table was set up. She got the diaper bag and loaded it with all the necessities. She grabbed some of Andy's clothes in case he had an accident as well.

After a twenty minute car ride Gabby pulled up into Station fifty-one and saw only one truck parked on the apparatus floor, the squad truck, also she noticed the ambulance wasn't in its bay.

"Daddy's truck?" Andy asked as he got out of his car seat, "Daddy! Daddy!" He jumped up.

"No sorry honey Daddy's out saving people and putting out fires. He'll be back soon."

Andy lowered his lip but his disappointment soon faded as his mother took his hand and they walked into the firehouse.

"Unca Leeely!" Ellie shouted at the top of her lungs and scrambled to get out of Gabby's hold. "Unca Leeely!" She continued to shout and just before the family reached the apparatus floor she gained the attention of the squad table and Kelly turned around in his chair a big smile on his face.

He stood up and bent down, "My favourite girlfriend," He smiled and waited for Ellie to run into his arms. He picked her up and held her. She was as close to a daughter as he had, as he still hadn't found a woman he wanted to settle down with. "Did Mommy bring you here?" He smiled at Gabby who was watching Andy talk feverishly to Capp and Tony.

"Yes," She nodded.

"Lets go see Mommy," He carried her over to Gabby and in the process hugged her, "Hey Gabby. Good to see you."

"Good to see you too," She smiled in return. "How long has Matt been out on a call?"

"Around two hours. Been a pretty slow shift for us."

"Uncle Kelly!" Andy bounded over to him, "Hi!"

Kelly looked down at the boy, "Well if it isn't the future Lt. Casey."

At his godfather's words Andy grinned from ear to ear, "Where's Daddy?" He asked just as Truck eighty-one pulled into the bay.

"Daddy!" Andy and Ellie waved excitedly to the truck gaining a smile back from Cruz who was at the wheel.

The men of truck eighty-one dispersed from the truck and Andy and Ellie ran to them. "Daddy! Daddy!" They each grabbed a hold of him as he stepped out of the truck.

He lifted them both into his arms, "Well this is the best surprise I could ask for," He kissed them both sending a thankful look Gabby's way, "Can Daddy get out of his fire clothes and then pick you both up again."

"Okay Daddy," Andy nodded and shifting Ellie in his grasp Matt placed the boy on the ground.

"Hi Uncle Chris," He walked to Herman.

Herman knelt down to the boy's level and smiled, "Every time I see you, you've grown. I should measure you."

"Yeah." He cheered, "And him," He pointed to his father's current candidate.

"That's Candidate Liam Wordsworth," He explained, "This is his second shift."

Andy promptly walked up to him and smiled, "I'm Andrew Liam Casey. We have the same name." He smiled up at the twenty-one year old.

"Hi buddy," Liam looked down at the boy. He wasn't completely comfortable around young children but knew he needed to at least try and be nice to his Lt's children, he'd heard countless stories about them in the little time he'd spent at firehouse fifty-one.

"Hey Lt. mind if I take Andy here and measure him, I'll just be in the common room," Herman had taken Andy into his arms with Liam standing behind him.

"Not at all Herman," Matt replied and watched the trio walk away. Ellie had gone with Severide and was sitting on his lap talking away as the Squad guys played card.

"Hi," Gabby walked up to him and gave him a deep, passionate kiss on the lips.

"Hi," He gladly returned the kiss, "I can't keep this baby a surprise anymore," He touched her belly, "Can we tell them?"

"Good idea," She kissed him and took his hand, "Hey guys come on into the kitchen we have some news to tell everyone."

The Squad guys stood up and all followed the couple into the kitchen room\common area where Truck, and EMT's Mills and Brett, who had gotten in minutes after Truck had, were all settling in.

"Hey guys," Matt spoke up, "We have an announcement to make," He looked at Gabby who gave him a small nod and smile, "We're pregnant."

The entire room erupted in cheers so loud little Ellie covered her ears and buried her face into Kelly's shirt.

Once the congratulations had been made everyone went back to what they had been previously doing and Matt and Gabby slipped away and went into his office.

Locking the door and closing the blinds Matt slipped his hands underneath Gabby's t-shirt and rested his hands on her tiny baby bump, pulling her close he touched his lips to hers and whispered, "Thank you for giving me a beautiful family."

Gabby smiled against his lips and then kissed him licking his lips he gladly granted her access to his mouth and they kissed passionately. Matt moving his hands from her abdomen upwards and Gabby running her hands through his hair. In seconds they had reached his bed and Matt sat down and lay on his back pulling Gabby with him.

Meanwhile in the kitchen area Ellie was sitting on the counter watching Liam attempt to get the supplies ready to make dinner. She had watched her mother, aunt, cousin and grandma cook thousands of times in her two years and she thought Liam might need some help.

"I elp?" She looked at him and tilted her head to one side, "Ease?"

Mills who had been sitting at the table and keeping an eye on Ellie stood up and walked over to the counter, "I'm sure Lt. Casey won't mind if Ellie and I help you out."

"Oh yeah sure," He gave Mills and thankful look.

Mills nodded and took Ellie into his arms, "Now what were you planning on making?"

"Not sure," He responded sheepishly.

"I see we have our work cut out for us," Mills said to Ellie.

"Lots of elp," She responded and looked at Liam, "We good." She promised.

Liam only chuckled and smiled at the toddler, "Well thanks for your help."

Two hours later a fresh garden vegetable salad, a simple pasta dish and a apple pie had been made and as Liam called everyone to dinner Ellie smiled proudly, "Eember to nay ank-wou." She looked sternly at all of the men.

"Oh she's her mother alright," Otis whispered to Cruz, "Look at that face."

"That a bad thing Otis? Gabby appeared behind him and asked.

Otis spun around and was greeted with the same look he had received from Ellie, "No, no of course not," He sputtered and quickly left.

"He funny," Ellie giggled.

Gabby looked at her daughter, "Did you make this dinner?"

Her daughter grinned, "I did Mommy!"

"Oh well then I'm sure it tastes delicious," Gabby filled her plate and then picked Ellie up, she brought her to the table and sat her on her lap and cut up some of the food on her plate for her to eat.

"Mommy," Ellie looked around frantically, "Where Leeelly?" She asked of her teddy bear "He gone," She cried.

"We'll find him sweetie," Gabby reassured her; she knew she had brought it and had it when she was sitting with Severide.

Just then Newhouse walked into the room, "I found him," He told the little girl, "He wanted to surprise you so he asked to go shopping for some clothes," He showed her the bear which was now dressed in a fire fighter outfit, "He bought some other clothes to. A doctor's outfit and a prince outfit."

Ellie jumped from her mother's lap and ran over to Newhouse, "Illy Leeely," She looked up at the bear, "Tell Mommy," She reached up and Newhouse handed her the bear who she hugged tightly, "Mommy norried," She schooled, "Big noble,"

Matt walked over to Kelly who was watching Ellie with a smile, "You must really love my daughter if that drive you took was to a Build-A-Beat store," He recognized the bag Newhouse was holding.

"What? I'm her godfather. I can spoil her if I want to."

"Spoiled is a good word," Matt agreed, "Sometimes I wonder if she loved you more then me," He joked.

"What?" Kelly looked at him, "You're her Daddy I'm just a fun Uncle she loves to see. No way man, she loves you, she'll always love me. I'm just a fade."

At that Matt chuckled, "I'm sure you're not a fade man, she'll love you all her life. When she's a teenager and she can't come home it'll be you who gets the phone calls in the early hours to come and pick her up."

"Yeah well I'll kick her ass if she gets mixed up with drugs," He shuddered at the thought of his sweet and innocent goddaughter becoming a rebellious teenager.

"Well if she's like Gabby, and so far she is; she'll have a little bit of a rebellious time when she's a teenager. Luckily though we have a lot of more years to go until we get to that." He watched Ellie and Andy dig through the bags that Squad had brought back for them. Andy pleased to see more fire fighter and construction outfits and accessories for his stuffed dog he had.

 **TBC**

* * *

 **A\N:** I hope you liked it.


	4. Eva & Diego help out

**A\N:** This one-shot features Antonio's kids Diego and Eva. Oh and Antonio and Laura are still married in this series.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

 **Spoilers:** None

 **Warnings** **:**

* * *

 **Baby-sitting Fun**

Eighteen-year-old Eva rang the doorbell and waited. It wasn't long until she heard squeals of excitement and running feet and as soon as her aunt opened the door she and her brother got plummeted by Andy and Ellie.

"Eva! Eva!" Ellie smiled up at her, "Look!" She proudly showed off her brand new dress.

"Oh very pretty," Eva smiled as she took off her shoes and hung up her coat, "You know what would go great with that? Some nail polish."

"Yes! Yes!" Ellie jumped up and down and tried to look inside the bag Eva was carrying.

Diego meanwhile was busy with Andy who was following him as he followed Eva into the living room, "Diego I went to IKEA."

"Yeah I heard about that. Was it fun?"

"Uh-huh! We're going to help Daddy!" He smiled up at the ninth grader.

"We sure are," Diego ruffled his cousin's hair. He liked Andy and was glad he loved him but he wasn't always sure what to say and do around him.

"Diego!" Ellie came bonding up to him carrying her teddy bear, "He's a cop." She proudly showed her cousin. "Ike you."

"We'll I'm not a cop yet," Diego told her, "But the bears still cute."

Ellie tilted her head, "Daddy ided?" Her lip began to pout and Diego looked up at his aunt for help.

"Diego's going into grad nine sweetie. When's he's older like Eva he wants to go to college and become a police officer. That's all Daddy said."

Ellie didn't look any less confused.

"I know its complicated sweetheart," Gabby picked her up.

"Uh-huh," Ellie nodded.

Gabby placed her on the ground and smiled as she ran off back to where Eva was sitting. She then watched as Diego was talking to Andy about what they might do at the house to get it ready.

"Thanks again for coming over to help you two," She thanked her niece and nephew. They were going to help her and Matt with the kids for the day.

"No problem Aunt Gabby," Diego was the first one to speak up.

"Yeah," Eva echoed.

Matt walked out of the bedroom, "Who's ready to work on the new house?"

"Me!" Andy cheered excitedly as he grabbed his toy tool-kit and construction hat. "All ready Daddy!" He announced happily. "Come on Diego!" He took his cousin's hand and dragged him to the front door.

"Okay, okay," Diego, laughed at how exited Diego was, "Was I this hyper?"

"Was? You still are," Eva replied, "Why do you think Mom and Dad encourage you to play so many sports?"

"Always so nice Eva," Diego responded, "Not my fault I'm good at boxing."

"So I'm I," She added.

"Yeah that's why you don't have a boyfriend.

"Hey! Hey!" Gabby glared at each of them, "You're supposed to be here helping. Don't give Andy and Ellie any ideas."

"Sorry," They immediately replied knowing they had gone overboard.

"It's aright just be careful," She looked each of them sternly. "Babe," She walked towards her husband, "Are you sure you don't want us to come and help?"

He shook his head and pulled her into his arms, "All I want you to do is have a nice relaxing day." He kissed her and placed a hand over her growing baby bump.

"If you're sure," She looked up at him.

"I'm sure," He kissed her on the lips and pulled away, "Come here Princess," He knelt down and held his arms out to Ellie who came charging at him. He picked her up and kissed her cheek, "You be a good girl for Mommy and Eva alright?"

"Oday Daddy," She smiled and looked at her father, "Ove you," She kissed him.

"I love you too Ellie," He hugged her tightly and placed her back on the ground, "Bye Eva and thanks again for helping." He told his niece as he got on his shoes and walked towards the door where Andy was waiting impatiently for him.

"No problem Uncle Matt," Eva responded as the boys left, "Okay Ellie you want me to do your nails now?"

"Yes!" She ran towards her smiling brightly.

"Aunt Gabby if you need to rest I can watch her," Eva looked over her shoulder at and aunt who was now almost five months pregnant.

"Maybe later," Gabby responded, "Right now I think I might get the kitchen cleaned up."

"Sure," Eva nodded and watched her walk into the kitchen Ellie completely captivated by the many shades of nail polish she could choose from. "Pink and urple.' Ellie pointed to two of the brightest shades of the colours.

"How about this pink with hearts?" She pointed to a softer shade of pink.

Ellie, who would do anything her cousin said feverishly, nodded her head in excitement.

"Okay," Eva said, "And while we're doing our nails we can watch Dora," She reached for the remote and loaded up Netflicks and played an episode of Ellie's favourite show.

* * *

"Wow Uncle Matt this looks pretty good," Diego was amazed at how much of the house was already finished compared to the last time he had seen it.

"Yeah I'm hoping we can move in before September."

"I go to school then," Diego announced proudly, "Like you Diego."

"Yeah, Eva and you and I are all going to be at new school's." Diego was going into grade nine and Eva was going to a local university, Andy of course was going into JK.

"Yeah and the babies due in early November so I think moving in early to mid August will be ideal."

"Daddy lets go!" Andy pointed eagerly to where all of the new furniture and IKEA boxes were.

"We can do that later bud, right now how about you hold the door open we'll Diego and I carry in some things for the bathroom downstairs."

"I can help carry them," Andy said.

"There really heavy buddy."

He frowned, "I'm strong."

Matt looked at his son and sighed. This was why he didn't like bringing him here to help with the new house, he always wanted to do everything he did and wouldn't settle for simpler tasks.

"I have an idea," Diego spoke up, "How about your dad and I unload the things we need and then you can show me around the house. If you hold the door open for us it'll be faster."

"Okay Diego!" Andy did as he was told without further complaint.

"Thanks bud," Matt lowered his voice as he and Diego walked to the truck.

He didn't think it was a big deal, "I wasn't sure if it would work or not."

"If I had suggested it wouldn't have."

"Diego! Diego I have my own room upstairs!" Andy told his cousin proudly as he walked into the house carrying boxes, "All my own!"

"Oh that's good. I never like sharing toys with Eva," He knew Andy hated it when Ellie played with toys, "You're the oldest though I bet if you showed her how to play with some of your big kid toys she'd like that."

"She doesn't. She's a girl," He declared, "Girls are weird."

Diego laughed, "I thought that when I was younger too."

"Cause Eva's weird," He guessed.

Diego burst out laughing, "You're funny; no I jut didn't like girls yet but I do now and when you're my age you will to."

Andy didn't look so sure and after his dad and Diego and finished unloading the truck he proudly took Diego up the stairs and to the room that was his, "See! No girls!" He pointed to a piece of paper with scribbled writing taped to the door.

"Ah," He could only read the word 'no' but smiled nonetheless and looked into the light blue room, "Pretty cool."

"Cool!" Andy repeated.

"Wanna show me the rest of the house?"

"No, its boring," He insisted.

"Well lets show Diego anyways," Matt told Andy.

* * *

The kitchen was as clean as Gabby could remember seeing it. She had managed to even wash the floor something she hadn't done in far to long; she was organizing the messy cipbaord she kept the cookbooks in when Eva appeared, Ellie on her hip.

"Can we come in?" Eva asked.

"Yep, floors all clean."

"Look Mommy!" Ellie showed off her painted nails. They were a light shade of pink and white hearts in the middle.

"Ooh very pretty Eva did a great job. Now are you hungry?"

Ellie looked at her nails and then up at Eva. "There dry sweetie," She promised, "Now what do you want for a snack."

Ellie thought about it, "Don't know."

"How about we show Eva how we make great smoothies, then later after your nap we can all make dinner."

"Yay!" She cheered happily.

"Alright," Gabby got out the smoothie ingredients and Eva got Elli settled at the table.

"Need any help Aunt Gabby?"

"No, no I'm good sweetheart."

"Okay," Eva sat down beside Ellie and said, "So are you excited about being a big sister?"

"Baby!" She clapped, "My baby!"

"Yeah she thinks she's going to do all the work to look after her new little brother," Gabby explained to her niece, "I'm glad she's happy though because Andy isn't taking it to well."

"Really?" I thought he; like having a new brother."

"Well he thinks the new baby will take up even more of your Uncle's time and he claims he'll never see him. To be fair he has a point as he is going to school but he's pretty angry about it."

"Well he seemed to love Diego being here maybe that'll help."

"Yeah I hope it does," Gabby finished the smoothies and brought them over, "You think you could stay with Ellie well I go have a sleep?" She asked as she got a wave of dizziness.

"Yeah sure Aunt Gabby. I'll make her lunch and put her down in Andy's room."

"Thanks Eva," She kissed her cheek. "Mommy's going to have a nap but Eva's going to stay with you," She turned to Ellie,

"Oday Mommy," She pressed her hands to Gabby's stomach, "Baby brower," She blew a kiss."

"Aw, that was sweet," Eva, told her.

Ellie smiled in return, she loved doing things to please her cousin.

* * *

"No Daddy!" Andy shook his head, "No!" He was pulling his arm trying to stop him from going into the nursery.

"Andrew," Matt looked sternly at the four year old, "Let go of me."

"No!" He stomped his feet. "NO! NO! NO!" He had inherited his mother's stubbornness and quick temper along with his father's quick temper and full out rage when angry. In other words he was a nightmare when he got into a bad mood.

"Okay," Matt picked him up and carried him further into the hallway and set him on the ground. "Start behaving or I'm taking you home."

"Daddy the baby is bad," He crossed his arms and sulked.

Andy had been fine with the baby until a week ago; when they found out it was going to be a boy he went ballistic. He didn't want Matt to spend all his free time with the baby and it wasn't fair he'd never get to see him and no matter what he told his son nothing ever made him feel any better. He wanted to help him but he couldn't and wasn't going to put up with bad behavior.

"Andy I already told you that I'll have lots of time to spend with you. Your baby brother won't be here until after Halloween."

"But then he'll steal you," He sulked, "I don't like babies."

"I know babies need a lot of work but remember I told you when your brother will look up to you. He'll want to do everything you do."

"I won't like that."

Diego tried hard to stifle a laugh.

"What?" Andy turned and glared at him, "What's so funny?" He demanded.

"Andy you don't talk to people like that," Matt scolded, "What do you say?"

Andy lashed out a kicked his father, something he shouldn't have done, "Alright!" Matt took his arm, "We're going to have a talk!"

"No! No!" Andy screamed and tried his best to get out of his father's hold as he ran down the stairs getting as far as the entrance where he ran into his Uncle Antonio and Aunt Laura.

"Daddy's mean!" He hid behind them.

"Andy your aunt and uncle aren't going to help you," Matt warned, "Now come out and talk."

"No!" He was still hiding.

"Andrew," Antonio turned and looked at his nephew a stern look on his face, "You listen to your father."

"I don't like the baby," He tried to explain.

"Ah," Antonio's features relaxed a little, "Mind if I talk to him?" He asked his brother in-law.

"Sure maybe you can get through to him."

"Okay Andrew lets go," Antonio pointed outside, "No I'm not carrying you," He said and her finally walked out of the house and sat on the grass outside, Antonio joined him, "So you don't like the idea of being a big brother?"

"No. The baby's going to take Daddy's time." He explained, "I'll never see him."

"Well did your Daddy tell you you're baby brother is going to want to be just like you."

"I don't care," He replied.

"Well now that's still no way to act that way."

"He'll do everything with him," Andy's lip began to tremble, "When I'm at school and and…"

Antonio knew what his nephew was talking about Matt was always talking about things he wanted to do with Andy when he was older. "No he won't. The baby is going to be little, he won't be able to do all of those big boy things your Daddy wants to do with you. He'll get to do them when he's older and you'll be able to tell him all about it."

"Cool, what else?"

"Well your little brother is going to love you as much as you love Diego."

"Will I like him?" He wondered.

"Yeah but like Ellie does he'll get on your nerves you have to be patient with younger siblings."

"I'll try," He admitted and finally smiled, he stood up and walked back into the house, "Daddy its okay. The baby's okay," He hugged his father.

 **THE END**


	5. The Flu

**A\N:** I hope you like this one. I remember getting this idea from a friend on Twitter.'

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own anything

 **Spoilers:** None

 **Warinings:** None

* * *

 **The Flu**

It was early August, and Andy had woken up in the middle of the night feeling very sick, "Mommy! Daddy!" He called at the top of his lungs. "Mommy! Daddy!"

"I'm here buddy," Matt walked into his son's room yawning. He had gotten off night shift a few hours ago; but between shifts and finishing up with the new house, he hadn't had a break for almost three weeks.

"Daddy I feel yucky," Andy, said as he rubbed his eyes and looked at his father.

"Do you feel warm?" He walked over to the bed and felt his son's forehead; he was warm and it look like he was running a high fever. "Okay Daddy's going to get you some medicine," He took him into his arms and carried him towards the washroom where the medications were kept on a high childproof cupboard.

"Daddy!" Andy whined as he stood on the floor, "Daddy!" Tears came to his eyes and he began to throw-up.

Matt quickly forgot about getting the medication and picked his son up, "It's okay buddy," He soothed his scared son, "You're just sick; sometimes our bodies do this when we're sick."

"Like Mommy?" He asked, "When she has a baby growing in her tummy?"

"Yeah something like that," Matt told him, "Now lets get you all cleaned up and then I'll give you your medication."

Andy nodded his head and Matt carried him out into the hallway.

"Oh Andy," Gabby walked out of the master bedroom and saw her son, "I've just gotten Ellie back to sleep."

"Mommy!" Ellie cried out, "Mommy!"

"At least I thought I did," She sighed and turned to walk back into the master bedroom. "Sweetheart you need to go back to sleep," She told her daughter, "Mommy thinks your getting sick. You need some rest."

"Mommy!" She cried again and threw up all over herself and her favourite stuffed bear, "Kelly!" She screamed in horror as she saw what she had done but before she could put her bear away she threw up again and then a third time.

"Oh sweetheart," Gabby scooped her daughter into her arms and soothed her, "Mommy will make you all better," She attempted to find a comfortable position to hold her as she was now six months pregnant.

"Mommy 'ard," Ellie mumbled into her t-shirt.

"You don't need to be scared," Gabby rubbed her back, "Lets get you changed and we can wash your clothes and Kelly for you."

"No!" She screamed grasping her teddy as tightly as she could, "No, ead," She sobbed.

"Ellie, Kelly needs to get cleaned just like you do. I'll clean you up and then put Kelly in the wash. I'll make sure h doesn't get hurt; it'll wash him gently."

"Unca Kere be mad?"

She almost laughed, "Oh no sweetheart Uncle Kelly will just want you to get better."

"Oday," She snuggled further into her mother and Gabby carried her out into the hallway and towards the bedroom, She had momentarily forgot that Andy was also sick but was reminded again as she saw Matt tucking him in.

"Me ick," She mumbled sleepily.

"Oh no," Matt walked towards her and held her arms out for Ellie, "Daddy will clean you up. Mommy and your little brother need some sleep."

"Baby no ick," She pouted.

"Yes that's right baby we don't want your baby brother getting sick," Matt held her and walked towards the dresser to get some clothes for her, "I'll stay in here with the kids tonight," He looked back briefly at Gabby.

"Matt," She crossed her arms, "They're my kids too. You know I don't like it when you bubble-wrap me."

"Babe most of the time yes I do, but when it comes to the health and safety of you and any of our children I don't." He put Ellie on the ground and took off her spoiled clothes and put her into new ones.

Gabby rolled her eyes but she could never argue with him about that. She loved him for unconditionally loving their children. He was the best father she could have ever asked for her children and he spoiled and loved her as well, sometimes to a fault. She knew that and in a way that old fashioned chivalry had made him more attractive to her.

"Let's wash your face sweetie," Matt picked Ellie up again.

"I'll wash their clothes and Kelly," Gabby collected everything and followed her husband back into the hallway.

"Fine but make sure you get some sleep," Matt kissed her on the lips and rubbed her abdomen.

* * *

The next morning was no better with both Andy and Ellie sick and watching TV on the couch. The only good thing about them being sick was that it allowed Gabby and Matt some extra time to pack, as they were moving into the new house in less then a week.

"Mommy," Andy whined, "More medicine."

Putting down what she was holding Gabby walked over to her son and knelt down, "Sorry buddy you can't have any more medication yet."

"No! I feel sick!" He cried.

"I know Andy, I know," She kissed his forehead; she hated seeing her children so sick and laying on the couch. As much as they sometimes gave her trouble she'd much rather have them up and about and making it impossible for her and Matt to pack. "I'll get you some water after I answer the door," She stood but saw Matt already answering the door.

"Kelly," Matt opened the door to find his best friend loaded down with bags, "You didn't have to come."

"I was going to take them for the day so you could get packing done. Figured I could still help," He shrugged as he walked into the apartment and towards the couch where the movie had been forgotten about and Andy and Ellie were both looking at him.

"Daddy and Mommy said you weren't feeling well."

"No," Ellie shook her head, "Stay?"

"Of course I'm staying. Why wouldn't I be here when my little girlfriend and favourite junior fire fighter are sick."

Ellie smiled as much as she could and showed him her bear, "Elly'a ick too."

"Oh well we can't have my favourite bear sick either," He shook his head and sat down in-between the two children, "So I'll stay here and if you need anything you ask me alright? Lets give Mommy and Daddy a break." He looked up at his friends; both of whom looked like they needed sleep. "Go and have a sleep; packing can wait," He urged them, "Really you look like sh-crap."

"Thank you," Matt noticed he corrected his language, "I think maybe we should get some sleep; especially you Babe," He looked at Gabby.

"If I'm sleeping then so are you," She took his hand and led him into their bedroom where she sat on the end of the bed and rubbed her abdomen, "Have I told you how sexy you are when you look after our children," She pulled him towards her and pulled him into a deep kiss.

"And do you know how incredibly sexy it is that you gave me two beautiful children and are carrying a third," He whispered against her lips and lifted up her shirt and placed his hands on her abdomen, "I can't wait to see our baby. I think we make adorable babies," He kissed her gently on the lips and then gently pulled her to her feet and walked her to the other end of the bed and helped her climb in.

"Hey!" Kelly knocked on the door, "One thing, when can I give them more medication. Andy's been asking for it?"

"Not for another hour!" Matt replied, "And it's on the counter. The measuring spoons are in the first middle cupboard. We haven't packed the kitchen yet!"

"Thanks!" Came Kelly's response and they hard him walk back down the short hallway.

"They will be well looked after," Matt walked to the other side of the bed and got in moving as close to Gabby as he could, "I love you Gabriela Casey," He said. "I love you so much," He rested one hand on her abdomen and the other caressing her face.

"We love you Matthew Casey," Gabby responded back as she moved a hand to her stomach and placed it on top of his.

"Go to sleep," He soothed.

"You too," She snuggled into him and was soon asleep.

They both awoke around three o'clock and were pleased to hear Ellie and Andy laughing. They stood and walked into the living room delighted to see Kelly had turned one of the moving boxes into a puppet theatre and was doing a puppet show with Kelly the bear and Andy's dog Scruffy.

"Well this is nice," Matt laughed at the sight and as Kelly glared at him he added, "And it never leaves this room."

"Hey if it gets them smiling…." He stood to his feet and gave his godchildren back their prized stuffed animals, both given by him on the day they were born. "I gave them some more medication and there fevers seem to be going down. Ellie threw up once but I cleaned her up and put the clothes in the wash.

"I'm impressed, you'd make a good mother," Gabby good-naturedly joked, "You think you can handle babysitting three of them after December."

"I think I can manage," He smiled, "Just don't have anymore or I'll have to call in back-up, how does Uncle Cruz and Uncle Otis sound?"

"Yay!" Andy smiled.

"We'll see," Matt smiled; in truth though he'd have no problem with any of his men babysitting his children.

 **TBC**

* * *

 **A\N:** Please review.


	6. Baby Jacob

**A\N:** In this one-shot the new baby Casey is born.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

 **Spoilers:** None

* * *

 **Baby Brother**

 **Mid December**

"Mommy!" Andy ran as fast as he could off the school bus and into his mother's arms.

"Hi buddy," She bent down and hugged him and gave him a kiss, "How was your day at school."

"We played in the big playground!" He told her happily, "Where big kids play!"

"Oh, well that's pretty cool," Gabby tried to match his level of excitement, "What did you do outside."

"We builted a huge snowman!" He raised his hands to show her how high it was,  
"And I printened my name." He recalled proudly, "It's in my bag."

"You wrote your name!" She kissed him again, "Baby that's great! That deserves something special what do you want for dinner?"

"I want to eat with Daddy!" He announced.

Gabby sighed, she walked right into that one, "Alright sweetie we can visit Daddy at work. Lets play in the snow for a bit first though.'

"Okay!" Andy grinned and ran off to join Ellie in their front yard.

"Cold," Ellie took off her gloves and felt the snow on her hands, "Mommy cold."

"I know its cold sweetie that's why we keep our gloves on. Come here Mommy will put them back on.

Ellie nodded her head and stood and waddled over to her mother. She was wearing long pants a sweater, jacket, snow-pants, boots, scarf, hat and gloves; so she sometimes found it hard to walk.

"Baby cold?" Ellie rubbed her mother's stomach over her coat, "Baby soon?"

"I hope so sweetheart," Gabby responded as she put her daughter's gloves back on. Her son was due a week ago but still she hadn't gone into labour. Her doctors had told her that if in two days she still hadn't they'd have to induce labour.

Ellie grinned up at her and plopped back down in the snow and began rolling around in it. "Andy!" She made her way to her older brother who was trying to make snowballs; she sat down beside him and tried to copy his actions but ended up with worse luck then he did.

"Mommy ale?" She walked back over to her mother.

"Okay sweetie I'll get you the buckets," She walked towards the garage and came back moments later with buckets and pails for Ellie to use.

"Yay!" Ellie took them and began playing.

"What do you say Ellie?"

"Ank wo."

"You're welcome."

The two played in the snow for almost twenty minutes until they both got cold and wanted to go in. Gabby loaded them into the van and sprinted back into the house to grab Ellie's baby bag and both of their backpacks used for when they visited other people's houses.

"We go?" Ellie asked as Gabby got back into the car and into the drivers seat.

"Yeah baby we're going to go and visit Daddy at the firehouse.

"Yay!" She cheered, "Elly," She smiled.

"Yep you'll see Kelly and everyone else," Gabby told her children as she began to drive towards the firehouse; along the way she got some pain in her back but didn't think anything of it.

"Daddy!" Andy got himself out of his car seat and grabbed his backpack and jumped with excitement as his mother opened the door, "Mommy!" He pulled her hand.

"Hold on Andy," Gabby got Ellie down and placed her on the ground, taking both their hands she walked carefully into the firehouse, only letting them go when they were safely on the apparatus floor.

Andy disappeared to find Matt and Ellie went up to Kelly, "Hi Unca Elly!"

"Well isn't this a nice surprise," He smiled and lifted his goddaughter onto his lap.

"Hi," She waved to the rest of squad.

"Hi," Capp smiled at the toddler, he didn't like children that much but even he knew Ellie was adorable.

Seconds later Andy returned in Matt's arms, "I found Daddy!" He announced proudly.

"He sure did," Matt conformed with a smile as he walked up to Gabby and kissed her on the lips placing both his hands on her abdomen. "How're you doing?"

"Okay," She placed her hand over his, "They wanted to come and see you so I figured we'd come for dinner."

"Sure," Matt kissed her again, "Come here Ellie," He walked towards his daughter and held out his arms.

"Daddy!" Ellie jumped off Severide and ran happily into his father's arms.

"Hi sweetie," He lifted her up and kissed her.

"Hot!" She complained as she started taking off her outdoor clothes.

"Me too!" Andy said.

"Alright," Matt placed them both on the ground and began to help Ellie take off her winter clothing.

"Uncle Kelly I can do it by myself," Andy announced proudly to his godfather as he started taking off his winter clothes, "I do it at big school."

"Well look at that," He grinned, "You can get changed fast; that's a good skill for a future fire fighter to have."

"Unca lelly!" Ellie cried, "No."

"No, no Ellie Uncle Kelly can talk to you and Andy," Gabby reminded her daughter as she felt another pain, this time in her abdomen and she calculated she was probably in early labour.

"Hey Babe," She tried to remain calm, "Mind if we speak in your office?"

"No," He shook his head and led her down the hall and into his office.

Once there she turned to him, "Matt I'm having contractions."

Matt's eyes widened but he didn't freak out, after two births he knew that it typically took a long time for the labour to progress, "How far along at the contractions."

"Twenty minutes. We have lots of time to get to the hospital."

"Still I'd like to be safe," He took her hand and led her back down the hall and into the kitchen.

"Mommy! Daddy! Andy rushed up to them bouncing on the balls of his feet, "Uncle Cruz and Uncle Ottis are going to build a snowman with me!"

"That's great bud," Matt ruffled his son's blonde hair thanking both of his men with a nod.

"Come on!" Andy tugged on their hands and pulled them out of the room.

Ellie was sitting on Sylvie Brett's lap babbling away as the woman braided her hair mentioning something of nail polish to which she received a delighted squeal from Ellie.

"Looks like the kids are alright," Matt whispered in her ear and then took her to Chief Boden's office and knocked.

"Come in!"

"Chief," Matt walked into the room, "Gabby's in labour and I was wondering if I could take the rest of the shift off so I can take her to the hospital."

"Of course, of course," He stood up and smiled, "Congratulations. Hermann can be relief Lt. Are Andy and Ellie here?"

"Yeah but we can drop them off at my parents house or with my brother."

"Oh no," Boden waved his hand, "They're fine here."

"Thanks," Gabby smiled rubbing her abdomen, "We can tell the kids and Severide and then we can go."

"Good plan, I'll go get changed and let Herman know."

"Okay," She walked back into the common room and towards the table Ellie and Brett were sitting at "Ellie sweetie," She sat down in the chair cross from where Brett was sitting, "Baby brother is coming now so Mommy and Daddy have to go to the hospital. You and Andy are going to stay here."

Ellie gasped and squealed with happiness, "Yay! Baby! Me dee?"

"You'll see him later after he comes."

"Oday," She said.

Gabby stood and went to kiss the top of her head, "You be a good girl okay."

"Oday Mommy."

"Matt told me," Kelly met her at the entrance to the common room "I'll make sure the like munchkins are okay."

"Thanks Kelly. Do you know if Andy is still outside?"

"Yeah."

Gabby walked past him and out into the cold air, "Andy sweetie come here," She walked over to where he was playing, "Ottis and Cruz you too."

"Look at the snowman Mommy!" Andy smiled proudly.

"It's great buddy," She felt another contraction, "Your baby brother is coming so Mommy and Daddy have to go to the hospital. You and Ellie are gong to stay here."

Andy frowned, "Alright."

"Andy I need you to be a good boy. I know you aren't happy about this but I know you're going to like your baby brother."

"Okay Mommy," He hugged her. "Can I see him later?"

"Of course you can," She leaned down and kissed the top of his head. "Thanks for watching him you two," She looked at Cruz and Ottis.

"You're welcome Gabby," Cruz said, "And congratulations."

"Thanks," Gabby turned to see Matt walking towards her. She made her way over to him and together they walked to his truck.

 **Nine Hours Later**

Carrying Ellie and holding Andy's hand Kelly walked down the hallway of the maternity ward. Gabby had given birth in the middle of the night and so after shift ended and a quick stop at a Build-A-Bear store they had made it to the hospital. "

"Now remember your baby brother is very little so don't talk to loudly," Kelly explained as he opened the door to the hospital room.

"Mommy!" Ellie smiled as she saw her mother.

"Hi," Gabby smiled at her children, "Come meet your new baby brother."

"Down lease," Ellie requested and Kelly put her on the ground and she and Andy went over to look at the tiny baby wrapped up in a blanket

"Aw baby," Ellie cooed, copying what she'd hard adults say countless times, "Cute."

"What's his name?" Andy wondered.

"Jacob Hugo Casey."

"I'll learn how to spell that," Andy told his parents proudly. He looked at his younger brother, "He's okay."

Matt chuckled, "He's small right now buddy but he'll grow and soon he'll be copying everything you do. He's going to need you to help him out, be a good role model do you think you can do that?"

"Yeah I can."

"Me too!" Ellie grinned happily as she looked at her baby brother.

"Can I hold him?" Andy asked.

"Of course you can," Gabby smiled at him and he climbed up onto the bed, "Now remember to support his head," She instructed him and he did as he was told. Jacob woke up just as Kelly and Matt were taking pictures and looked up at Andy and blinked his eyes but didn't cry.

"He likes me!" Andy stated, "He's not crying."

"Of course he likes you, you're his big brother," Gabby kissed him, "Ellie do you want to hold him?"

Ellie excitedly nodded her head and Matt helped her up onto the bed. Gabby helped her hold Jacob and Matt and Kelly took more pictures.

"Ove woo," Ellie gently kissed Jacob's forehead.

"Aw," Kelly was quick enough to get a picture of the kiss, "Now that's a golden moment. Here you get in there with them and I'll take a few pictures of all of you," Kelly told Matt.

"Thanks man," Matt joined his family and looking at them he couldn't believe how blessed he was to have three beautiful and healthy children with such an amazing woman.

 **TBC**

* * *

 **A\N:** I hope you liked it.


	7. Christmas Part 1

**A\N:** The next four chapters are all about Christmas.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own anything

 **Spoilers:** None

 **Warinings:** None

* * *

 **Christmas Part One**

The cries of her two week old woke Gabby up at an unhealthy hour in the early morning. "Mommy's coming," She yawned sleepily as she crawled out of bed and made her way over to the cradle.

"You're a hungry boy aren't you?" She picked him up and held him in her arms as she made her way towards the bed. Sitting down and using pillows for support she lifted up her sweatshirt and shirt and began feeding him. His mouth latching on to her nipple he began sucking and his eyes began to flutter open and closed

"I know the feeling," She placed a gentle kiss to his forehead, "You've been keeping Mommy up all night long. Just when Daddy's back at work too; If you weren't so cute I'd wonder if you knew.

Jacob stared up at his mother as he continued to eat. Looking up at her he ate for another twenty minutes before finally finishing.

"All done?" She changed positions to burp him and found that he had already fallen back asleep again; carrying him back over to the cradle she placed him gently down.

She woke up an hour later to the sound of her alarm blaring, the sound not waking up Jacob at all and the infant slept soundly. Using the most of her time she took a quick shower and brushed her hair and changed into some clothes. She was almost at the door to the bedroom when Jacob started to cry.

"Of course," She muttered and she backtracked and went to the cradle and picked up her son, "Lets change you," She could smell his dirty diaper.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Ellie yelled from her bedroom, she hadn't yet figured out how to climb out of her crib, something both she and Matt were grateful of.

"I'm coming sweetheart!" She called back as she finished changing Jacob and carried him into Elle's bedroom, the two-year-old standing up in her crib smiling as she saw her mother.

Gabby lowered the crib and lifted her daughter into her arms shifting Jacob slightly as she did so, "Let me put Jacob down and then I'll change you alright?"

She pouted, "Mommy!"

"Mommy has to look after Jacob too," She reminded her daughter, "I'll go and put him down alright then come back.

"Oday," She agreed, "Lelly!" She snatched her bear away first, "No baby," She looked at her younger brother and frowned. "Where Daddy?"

"Daddy's at work. He'll be home soon but he'll need to sleep."

"Daddy be tired?"

"Yes sweetheart Daddy's going to be very tired," She said as Ellie followed her back into her bedroom and watched as she put Jacob down in the cradle.

"Baby nap," Ellie peered into the cradle and watched as her younger brother closed his eyes.

"Yeah the babies going to sleep," She took her hand and led her back into her bedroom. Changing her she let her pick out an outfit and then carried her down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Ellie help," She pushed a chair over to the counter and then got a step stool and climbed onto the chair, "Me make?" She looked at her mother and grinned.

"Want to make Daddy's favourite pancakes?"

"Yes!" She cheered happily and climbed down and ran to the cupboard to find the chocolate chips and the skittles.

"Good girl," Gabby praised as Ellie retrieved the items, "You remembered, now do you know what else we need?"

"Panyakes," She pointed up to a higher cupboard.

"That's right," Gabby told her and she got it out and began mixing the ingredients, Ellie watching closely.

"Mommy! Mommy! Two more sleeps!" Andy ran into the kitchen and pulled a sheet off his corkboard. He had been so excited for Christmas that Gabby had made him a countdown board and in the morning he got to take off a piece of paper on his corkboard.

Ellie and Andy each had their own corkboards at their height level hanging near Gabby's bigger one, on Andy's along with the Christmas countdown was a school calendar, school related reminders and a few drawings. Ellie had made multiple drawings for hers and tried her best to make it like her mother's.

"That's right honey Gabby watched Ellie site the batter as the doorbell rang, "I wonder who that is," She could guess, it would be any one in her family as they'd all been around to held more since Jacob was born, especially as she was planning on hosting Christmas dinner.

"I get it!" Ellie ran towards the front door ahead of her mother, "Bella!" She saw her grandmother through the window, "Mommy!"

"Okay baby," She unlocked and opened the door and her daughter went flying into her mother's arms.

"Oh now this is a great way to start a morning," Esmerelda picked up her granddaughter and hugged and kissed her, "You been a good little girl for Mommy?"

She nodded her head, "I elping!"

"Abuela!" Andy ran towards her.

"My big boy," She picked him up as well and carried them both into the kitchen, "You both go and play Abuela wants to talk to Mommy alright?"

Andy ran off but Ellie frowned, "No! elp!" She pointed to where the batter was still being made. "Daddy's waverit."

"Mommy will come and get you after alright. Now you listen and be a good girl."

Ellie frowned and shook her head, "Mommy! No!"

"Elizabeth," Gabby took her out of her mother's arms and set her on the ground, "You need to listen."

Ellie ran off crying and Esmeralda turned to look at her daughter, "Sorry if I wasn't much help there,"

"No, no Mom its alright," She sighed. She knew her mother was only trying to help but she sometimes felt better when se handled the kids by herself as it made it easier. Still she wouldn't complain about the help, "I just promised her she could help. You know we can't spend as much time together now so she loves to help me cook."

"Ah speaking of cooking-"

"Mom!" She groaned, "I already told you I want to make Christmas dinner. I'll be able to handle it, you know it's always been a dream of mine and we finally have the space for it. I already told you and Laura you two could help but only with what people usually help with."

"Okay, okay." Esmerelda knew her daughter was stubborn and didn't' give up easily, "I just came to ask if you wanted any help today? Matt needs some sleep when he gets home and so do you."

"Mom you took them the other day and Laura the day before that;"

"We're only trying to help Gabriela," She reminded her.

"I know you are and I appreciate it but-" She stopped when Ellie came back into the room, "I elp now?"

"Good asking," Gabby praised, "We can make the pancakes now," She lifted up her daughter and carried her back to the counter, "Mom you can watch them if you really want but maybe after Matt gets home. They really want to see him.

"Okay," Esmerelda nodded her head, "I'll just go and play with Andy," She left the room and let Gabby and Ellie continue making breakfast.

The pancakes were just being decorated when Matt walked into the front door. "Daddy!" Andy and Ellie rushed towards him both smiling widely.

He loved hearing them call for him and he picked them up and kissed and hugged them, "Good morning."

"Good morning Daddy," Andy replied back, "You tired?"

"Yeah but I can play," He put them down and took off his boots and coats,

"Hey babe," He walked over to Gabby and pulled her into him and kissed her, "How's our little boy doing?" He looked at the video monitor attached to the belt on her jeans.

"Woke me up six times last night," She replied, "But you must be tired too. How was your night?"

"Two calls," He kissed her again, "Everybody got out safely."

"Good."

He kissed her again and then walked over to his mother in-law and hugged her, "Hey Esmerelda.

"Hi Matt. Glad to hear work was alright," She really liked Matt and knew her daughter couldn't have picked a better husband or a father for her children. He brought out the best in her and where she was overly stubborn he was sometimes more willing to take help.

"Mom wants to take thing one and two again today," She pointed to Ellie and Jacob who were now standing close to Matt each holding one of his hands.

"Yay!" Ellie and Jacob cheered happily.

"Well I guess that answers that," Gabby shrugged her shoulders, "You can spend the afternoon with them Mom," She told her mother, "I don't want to take up any more of your time then that."

"Whatever you want dear," She smiled and walked with the children back into the kitchen to so that they could eat some breakfast.

"Daddy your waverit," Ellie pointed to the pancakes, "I elp!"

"You helped make them," He lifted her up and gave her kisses, "Well thank you. After a long day of work this is what Daddy needs."

* * *

Sitting on the couch with a glass of hot chocolate Gabby scanned through recipes to make Christmas dinner. She ha some of her mother's staples already copied but wanted to add something new as well. She knew Laura liked to personalize it as well and she wanted to do the same. She was thinking of making it a bit more traditional Spanish as she and read in her grandmother's old cookbook. Another part of her wanted something simple Ellie and Andy would eat. She knew Ellie would try anything though so Andy would be the only one that would need encouraging.

"There's Mommy," Matt carried Jacob into the living room the baby snuggled in a warm baby blanket.

"Is he hungry?" She asked looking up from her IPad.

"Yeah I think so. He woke up a bit cranky and he didn't need to be changed."

"Okay," Gabby reached out for her son and cradled him in her arms as she lifted up her shirt and began feeding him.

"Oh, before I forget Kelly said that his girlfriend can't fly home for Christmas because of a bad storm in Boston so he asked if h could bring her here. I said yes but on the condition you agreed."

"Thanks Babe," She smiled up at him, "Of course she can come. What's her name again?"

"Breanne."

"Right, right," She nodded, "Well if she's okay with battling Ellie for his attention then she's more then welcome."

"I'm sure Ellie will be fine, They'll be so much going on and a lot of people."

"Yeah." Gabby nodded her head, "Still though remind Kelly to let her know."

"I will," He promised reaching out for his phone to text his best friend back and confirm the plans.

 **TBC**


	8. Christmas Part 2

**A\N:** I hope you like this.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Chicago Fire, NBC, Global or Marvel

 **Spoilers:** None

 **Warnings:** None

 **Chapter 2**

"IT'S CHRISNIS!" Andy ran into his parent's bedroom and climbed up onto the bed and started jumping up and down, "Mommy! Daddy! Wake up!" He jumped down onto Matt's stomach and grinned widely as Matt opened his eyes and groaned,

"Oh Andy," He looked at him. It seemed like he and Gabby had just gotten to go back to sleep after putting Jacob down.

"Daddy!" Andy tugged his hand, "Santa came! Come on!"

"Yeah baby," Gabby flicked on the lamp. "Okay well lets go downstairs alright, let Daddy rest some more."

"No," Matt shook his head, "Mommy needs to rest come on Andy," He stood and took his son into his arms settling the four year old on his hip, "But we need to wait until Ellie wakes up to open presents."

"That shouldn't be long," Gabby also sat up. She looked at the clock on the night stand and saw that it was almost six o'clock she figured it wasn't that early to be woken up.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Ellie yelled.

"I'll get her," Matt got out of bed and quickly changed into a pair of jeans and t-shirt. He walked into his daughter's room, "Good morning sweetheart. Merry Christmas. Are you excited to see what Santa got you?"

Ellie was still to little to really understand what Christmas was and the idea of Santa Clause but she had been told all about it, "Prenes," She clapped happily.

"Yeah and you can wear your pretty Christmas dress," He carried her to the change table and changed her diaper. After changing her he set her on the floor and smiled as she took off to her closet and got her new red and green Christmas dress, "Ints."

"Tights?" Matt asked and she nodded her head. "Right, well do you think it would be cute with white tights?"

"Mommy?" Ellie looked at the door as if her mother was standing right there.

Matt had to laugh. "Hey! You don't think I can put you in a dress?"

"No!" She grinned in return smiling mischievously. The same grin Gabby often had; especially when they were making-out.

"Oh I think I can," Matt lifted her up and held her, "That grin is going to get you into some trouble when you're older," He concluded and set her back on the change table and dressed her, "What do you think do you want to marry a cute boy when you're older?"

"Lelly?" Ellie looked up at him innocently. She was serious too Matt knew which made it ever harder for him not to laugh, "Uh-oh," He shook his head, "You like bad boys. I'm in for a rough time when you're a teenager."

"Eda! Dego!" Ellie knew the word and happily informed her father her cousins were teenagers.

"Uh-huh and Uncle Antonio does okay doesn't he?" Although protective he knew his brother in-law had liked almost all of Eva's boyfriends over the years.

Ellie nodded her head and held her Kelly bear close to her as Matt carried her down stairs and into the living room where Andy was waiting very impatiently to open presents.

"Alright," Matt put Ellie on the ground, "Andy you can open a present, I think Santa wrapped yours in red paper," He sat on the ground next to his son, "Ellie can you find a pink bow?"

"Ink!" Ellie clapped as she heard her favourite colour but she grabbed the first present she saw.

"Hey!" Andy grabbed it, "That's mine!"

Ellie let out a loud shriek and started to cry.

"Andy be gentle," Gabby gently scolded, "Your sister's still learning. Here baby," Gabby found a present for Ellie, "You can open this one."

Ellie grinned, her tears forgotten and she ripped open the paper and saw a brand new baby doll, "Baby!"

"That's right, now you have a baby just like Mommy has a baby."

"Baby hunree," She pounded on the box but looked at Gabby, as she couldn't figure out how to open it.

"Hold on sweetie, lots more presents to open," She put the box aside and was just about to take another present when the doorbell rang.

"That's probably my parents," Gabby stood, "Abuela and Abuelo wanted to come over and open presents with you," She told Andy and Ellie.

"Abuela! Abuelo!" Andy rushed to the door and waited for his mother to open it.

"Mom, Dad," She opened the door and smiled at then, "Merry Christmas," She hugged and kissed them both. She'd told them they didn't have to come so early but they had done it the year before and wanted to do it again. They used to go over to Antonio and Laura's early on Christmas morning when Eva and Diego were little, usually bring Gabby along. She had to admit though she liked seeing her niece and nephew so excited about opening presents.

"And oh look at that pretty dress," Esmerelda grinned as she saw her granddaughter, "Oh don't you look so much like Mommy. Oh Gabby she's your twin." Esmeralda gushed, "Oh you're so beautiful," She picked Ellie up and kissed her, "Merry Christmas."

"My baby," Ellie pointed towards the living room.

"Your baby? Is Jacob with Daddy?"

"No Jacob's sleeping, Ellie opened a present from Santa and she got a baby doll.

"Come on," Andy spoke up for the first time, "Presents."

"Okay buddy," Gabby nodded, "Give Abuela and Abuelo a hug first though."

Andy happily did as he was told and smiled as he saw they were holing wrapped packages, "Can I ask?" He looked up at them. He knew it wasn't polite to ask for presents but he really wanted to know.

"You're sure your four?" Jose looked suspiciously down at his son.

"Daddy says be polite," He repeated proudly.

"Yeah you're sure like your father," He chuckled, "Well since you ask so politely they are presents but lets go into the living room and open them."

"Yay!" Andy ran back to all of the presents.

'Me go," Ellie looked up at Esmeralda who, put her down.

"Alright lets open some more presents," Gabby sat with her kids on the floor and was about to help Ellie find a present when Jacob cried, "I'll get him, you open presents."

Andy dove into one of his presents and ripped it apart, "A FIRE TRUCK!" He shouted happily, "DADDY! DADDY! LOOK!" He jumped up and ran to his father and tugged his hand and pulled him over to the huge box, "MY OWN FIRETRUCK!"

"Yeah it is bud, and you can ride on it. We can put it in the basement until summer."

"YAY!" He nodded happily, "Uncle Kelly's going love this!" He looked up at his father, "Is it a Truck one?"

"I don't know Andy," He laughed, most four year olds wouldn't know the difference but Andy sure did, "What did you want it to be?"

"Truck!" He announced happily.

"Well then we can make a sign for it," He ruffled his blonde locks and grinned.

"Yay," He began to open more presents and was ripping wrapping paper left, right and centre, he barely had time to see what he had gotten.

"Wow, wow," He pulled him back, "Lets let Ellie open some presents too," He looked at his two year old who was opening presents that her Abuela gave her. So far she had gotten her baby doll a kid sized apron and chef's hat.

"Daddy!" Andy reached for another present and seeing Gabby return with Jacob Matt released him, "Remember to look at what you got,' He watched him go back to opening presents.

"Okay Daddy!" Andy opened up the next present, "AH!" He yelled with excitement as he saw a play fire fighter outfit, "Daddy! Daddy!" He jumped up and down, "My own fire fighter shirt. Can we put a Lt. sign on it?"

"I think we can do that."

"Yay!" Andy flew into his arms and almost knocked him to the ground, "Santa is the best!" He exclaimed.

"I'm glad you think so," Matt kissed his blonde hair was now in a mess and tangled still from sleeping, "What else did Santa get you?"

"I don't know," He dug back into the presents

Meanwhile Ellie was ripping open her biggest present the one Matt knew had a matching crib, stroller and change table set for her new baby doll.

"Ah!" Ellie screamed as she finally managed to open the box and she pointed to the pictures "Baby! Baby!" She squealed happily.

"Now you can look after your baby while I look after Jacob," Gabby explained, "What's your baby's name?" Gabby asked although she was pretty sure she knew what the answer was going to be.

"Lelly baby!" She grinned, "Lelly baby."

"Kelly baby," She repeated, "Are you going to tell Uncle Kelly?"

Ellie nodded her head, "Uh-huh."

"Oh," Gabby shook her head and smiled, "She loves her god-father Kelly Severide," She explained to her parents, "Kelly's her favourite name."

"Ah," Jose nodded his head, "He's a good stand-up guy."

"She told me she was going to marry him this morning," Matt remembered.

"She did?" Gabby couldn't help but laugh, "What did you say?"

"I said she's going to like bad boys; as long as they're nice like Kelly though it'll be okay. She'll be a little firecracker though so I don't think she'll let anyone push her around. She's already a little firecracker.

"I'll remember that for when she wants to go out on her first date and you won't let her,' Gabby patted his cheek gently.

"I'm sure you will," Matt responded back with a little snicker, "Some new books Andy that's pretty cool," Matt saw his son was opening up some books.

"Okay," He nodded, "Fire truck books and Captain America," He showed his father, "But I like this one," He held up a book all about community helpers with real pictures in it, "I like police officers too."

"I know you do bud," Matt was glad he liked the book.

"Clolea!" Ellie ripped open some new outfits, "Ooh," She touched the sparkles on one of the tops and smiled as she saw another dress, "Petty."

"Yeah Santa has good tastes," Gabby sent a wink to her husband; it had been Matt who'd chosen the dress.

"Yeah he does," Matt agreed.

"Here Gabriela," Jose reached out for his grandson, "You and Matt go help the kids open the presents and we'll get some pictures."

"Thanks Dad," Gabby handed a sleeping Jacob over to him and got down on the floor with Ellie and Andy.

"Tools!" Andy saw a brand new toolbox, "More tools!"

"Yeah, these are for outside, now that he have a whole backyard you can use those to play outside with, maybe we can even get a sandbox for the summer."

"Yay!" Andy cheered, "Yes please!"

"No ank wou," Elle shook her head, "Ewie nand."

"Well you don't have to play in the sand," Matt assured his daughter, "Now come over here and lets get some pictures."

Ellie went over and sat on his father's lap next to her older brother. Gabby at beside her and her mother got a few good pictures.

"Now you can open these presents," Esmerelda handed the children another present. Ellie got a Disney princess doll and Andy a new toy car.

"Baby hunree," Ellie once again tried to open up the box the doll came in.

"Okay sweetie," Matt opened the box for her and Ellie reached for the doll, "Ank wou," She kissed her father's cheek and carried her baby over to an empty chair and climbed up. She then lifted up her shirt and began pretending to feed the baby.

"So much for baby bottles," Esmeralda shook her head, "I guess she see's you feeding Jacob," She said to her daughter, "She's really quite observant."

"Yes she is," Gabby agreed.

 **TBC**

* * *

 **A\N:** I hope you liked it.


	9. Christmas Part 3

**Chapter 3**

"WE-OOH! WE-OOH!" Andy made the noises of a fire truck as he rode his fire truck around in the basement, "I'm going to put out a fire!" He told Matt proudly and parked the car and ran to the opposite end of the basement and pretended spray a fire with hoses.

"Hey, heard you were down here," Antonio and Diego walked down the basement stairs.

"Uncle Antonio! Diego!" Andy took off running and almost knocked his cousin over, "Look what Santa got me!" He pulled his hand over and pointed to the ride on fire truck, "What did Santa get you?"

"Lots of money and some books. Wish he could get me a car," He looked at his father and smiled.

"Santa knows you can't drive for another four more years," Antonio responded not missing a beat."

"I said I wish," He added but Andy was pulling his hand again, "Diego you be the police officer!"

"Andy go say hi to your Uncle first," Matt instructed him.

"Opps," Andy turned and ran to Antonio, "Sorry Uncle Antonio."

"That's okay bud," Antonio lifted him up and gave him a kiss, "I know you're just excited. You can come say hi to your Aunt and Eva and then come back downstairs.

"Okay," He agreed and Antonio carried him upstairs and he happily went off to say hi to Laura. She was talking though so he stood and waited just like his parents had told him to do when people were talking.

"Laura, I think someone wants to talk to you," Esmeralda said after a few minutes.

"Andy," She turned her head and smiled, "I didn't even hear you there. How long have you been standing there?"

"I waited patiently," He explained proudly, "Merry Christmas Auntie Laura," He hugged her.

"Merry Christmas, are you sure your four?" She half-joked, he'd always been mature but since he had started school it had only increased.

"Uh-huh," He nodded, "Can I go and play now?"

"Sure," She nodded and smiled as she watched him run off back into the basement.

Ellie was pushing baby Kelly in the new stroller she'd gotten for Christmas when the doorbell rang, "LELLY!" She yelled at the top of her lungs and ran to the door trying to open it.

"Okay, okay sweetheart," Gabby came up behind her and picked her up, "It's probably Uncle Kelly." She opened the door and Ellie squealed with delight, as it was Kelly.

"Come here," Kelly took Ellie from Gabby, "Merry Christmas sweetie."

"Lelly baby Lelly!"

"Okay sweetie I can play with you," Kelly assured her, "Can you say hi to my girlfriend though?"

At the word 'girlfriend' Ellie frowned and shook her head, "No! Me no ike wou!" She pointed to Brianne. "Bad!"

"Ellie that's not nice," Gabby knew she needed to scold her for saying those words.

"Down!" Ellie demanded and as soon as Kelly let her go she ran away crying.

"That's Ellie?" Brianne knew the answer, "I'm so sorry…"

"It's not your fault," Gabby assured her as she stepped aside to let the couple in, "She's going t have to learn Kelly can't be hers forever."

"I'll go and talk to her," Kelly offered.

"Probably not the best idea," Gabby advised. "She'll calm down and forget all about it."

Kelly nodded his head, Ellie was Gabby's daughter and she knew her better then he did.

"Hate you!" Ellie, still in tears ran up to Kelly and started throwing toys at him and Brianne,

"Hey! Hey!" He looked sternly at her, "That's enough!"

"MEAN!" She screamed and then ran away again, "Up! Up!" She pointed to the baby gate, "Room!"

"I think that's a good idea," Gabby opened the gate for her and she went up the stairs and slammed the door to her bedroom.

"I should really talk to her," Kelly attempted again; he felt awful, he'd always told her that she was his girlfriend but he'd been joking; he didn't really think she'd ever believe him. He loved her like he would love a daughter of his own and felt awful that he'd obviously hurt her.

"What was that all about?" Matt wondered as he walked upstairs, "Please don't tell me that was Ellie? Is that what her teenage years are going to be like?"

"Matt!" Gabby scolded, "She's really hurt!"

"She's a baby," Andy didn't understand, "She's a little baby."

"No, no your sister's growing up," Matt hatred to admit it but he knew he had to, "And she's feeling sad right now."

"Why?"

"Because Kelly broke her heart," Eva said as she frowned, "And its not funny so don't laugh."

"It is!" Diego told her, "She's only two and she thinks Kelly was her boyfriend? She's worse then you are!"

"Hey!" Eva glared at him, "Not funny!"

"Matt, can you go and talk to her?" Gabby asked her husband, "I need to stay near the kitchen and- She was just about to say Jacob would need to be fed soon when the newborn started to scream.

"Jacob needs to be fed," She sprinted towards the stairs, "I'll go get him and bring him and-"

"I can look after things in the kitchen Gabriela," Esmeralda told her, "You have more important things to worry about."

"Mom I can handle it," She insisted.

"Mommy's stubborn," Andy said aloud what all of the adults were thinking, "Just like Ellie."

"Yeah your sister's very stubborn," Matt agreed, "I'll go talk to her though."

"Can I go Uncle Matt?" Eva asked, "I've had plenty of broken hearts so I can relate."

"Yeah sure," Matt smiled, "Thanks Eva."

"No problem," She gave her uncle a quick hug and made her way upstairs, "Ellie," She knocked the toddler's room and then entered.

"Go…way!" Ellie was laying on the floor sobbing.

"Oh sweetie," Eva's heart broke, "Come here."

"Lelly…." She sobbed, "Lelly no wike me."

"Oh no," She sat down on the floor and lifted her into her lap, "Uncle Kelly loves you. But he just needs other uh… friends to play with.

"I no like deane." She stuck out her tongue in disgust, "Mean!"

"Oh sweetie Uncle Kelly loves you but he needs a girlfriend who's his age." She tried to find someway of putting it so the toddler would understand, "He loves you and Andy and Jacob so much he wants kids of his own. Don't you want little baby cousins to play with?"

"Ooh babies!" She grinned happily, "Lelly babies!"

"Well sweetie Uncle Kelly needs… uh….. he needs a woman his own age to well play with kind of to make babies." She couldn't believe what she was explaining to her two-year-old cousin but she knew Ellie loved babies and she wouldn't understand or remember the converstation.

"Why? I pay ith him?" She looked up at her older cousin.

Eva did everything in her power not to laugh at the awkwardness of her little cousin's statement. She knew the toddler had no idea what it meant but and she needed to still treat this like a serious converstation.

"Because Uncle Kelly needs someone his own age sweetie, when you're older you're going to want a boyfriend to and it won't be Uncle Kelly."

"No way!" Ellie shook her head.

"Well not for a few more years," She told her, "Can you come downstairs with me though and say sorry to Uncle Kelly and Brianne."

"Baby Lelly's?" She asked again, "Babies?"

"Maybe but-" Eva didn't get to finish Ellie ran to the stairs and slid down on her bum and waited for the gate to be opened by Eva, "Ellie you-" She tried again but the toddler ran ahead of her.

"Uncle Lelly babies!" She ran up to Kelly and climbed up onto his lap and smiled happily.

"You're not mad at me anymore?" He looked at the toddler, "Want to play now?"

"Lill mad," She frowned and looked at Brianne.

"Maybe you should say sorry," Kelly prompted her.

"Oh Kel its alright she's a little girl, pretty cute too," Brianne smiled at Ellie, "I've heard a lot about you."

"I cute!" She smiled happily, "Baby Lelly!" She climbed down from Kelly's lap and went to get her baby doll and happily handed it to Brianne, "Baby Lelly."

"Oh this is your baby Kelly?" She held the baby, "He's pretty cute. Can I keep holding him?"

"Baby!" She squealed happily and went over to sit on her lap.

"Hey what about me?" Kelly asked, "Can I play?"

"No!" Ellie looked over her shoulder and frowned at him, "Nill mad!"

"Geesh you are like your mother," Kelly muttered under his breath but shook his head with laughter at the truth of his statement.

"She seems to be getting back to normal," Gabby overheard her daughter talk from the kitchen , "Thanks for talking to her Eva," She thanked her niece.

"No problem although I might have told her that Kelly and Brianne would have babies."

"What?" Laura stopped what she was doing and turned to stare at her daughter, "What did you tell her?"

"I just said he needed someone older to play with and it led to her asking why and I said sometimes when adults play together they make babies. She loves babies so I thought it might work and it did."

"Kelly and Brianne have been dating since August and he really likes her," Gabby said, "So you might be right. " She explained and she finished feeding Jacob and burped him and brought him out to the living room, "I know this is a silly question but does anyone want to hold Jacob for awhile.

"I will," Matt stood.

"Not you," Gabby good-naturedly glared, "You can hold him all time, you hold him to much anyways."

"Cute," Matt kissed her on the lips and took their son into his arms and held him closely and gently kissed his forehead, "You sure you don't need any help in the kitchen?"

"No, no I have more help then I need," She assured him and just then

Ellie came running up to her, "Me elp?"

"Of course," Gabby lifted her up, "I'm saving all the good jobs for you." She kissed her cheek.

"Yay!" She cheered happily and Gabby carried her back into the kitchen and set her down on the counter, "The master chef has arrived, " She announced, "So what should we do master chef?"

"Turkey Mommy!" Ellie said and she pointed to the stove, "Turkey!"

 **TBC**

* * *

 **A\N:** I hope you liked it.


	10. Christmas Part 4

**A\N:** So here it is the final chapter of this little four-shot; but don't worry there's more from this little family for sure.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, NBC or Global

 **Spoilers:** None

 **Warnings:** None

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" Ellie repeated as she watched Gabby prepare the turkey, "Me help!" She looked up at her eagerly.

Gabby usually loved her daughter's willingness to help but when she was already stressed out it was the last thing she wanted to deal with, "You helped Mommy get out the ingredients for the dinner." She hoped this would stop a meltdown. She was wrong. Ellie stared at her and frowned then she took a deep breath and opened her mouth, Gabby knew what was coming next, a temper tantrum.

"NO!" Ellie screamed as she began kicking her feet against the counter where she sat, "NO! NO!" She yelled, "NO! MOMMY!" She looked at her.

"Elizabeth," Gabby very rarely used her daughter's full name and when she did she always took notice, "Big girls don't have temper tantrums."

"Uh Aunt Gabby," Eva interrupted with a alight blush of embarrassment, "Did you want me to make the stuffing?"

"Oh the stuffing!" She exclaimed, "I knew I forgot something! Yes Eva you go and do that."

"Go and get your brother to help and take Ellie with you," Laura told her daughter.

"Right," Eva picked up Ellie and walked out of the room.

"Okay Gabby," Esmeralda sighed and shook her head, "Can we help you now?"

"Mom I-" She stopped, Jacob was crying and without even looking at the time she knew he needed to be fed, "I'll be back," She left the room and went into the living room to see Matt holding a wailing Jacob.

"He wants me," Gabby made her presence known as she stepped further into the room, "Come here baby," She lifted her son up and held him.

"Here," Matt stood to let her sit down.

"Thanks," Gabby sat down and smiled as h handed her a pillow as well.

"NO! NO!" Eva was continuing to fight anyone who tried to touch her and she frowned at her mother, "Bad baby!" She pointed to Jacob, "Bad! Bad! She declared.

"No, no," Gabby told her, "Your brothers a small baby he needs my attention more then you do right now. You're a big girl you know Mommy's really busy."

Again Ellie frowned and she just stomped her foot and continued to glare at her, "Don't do that Ellie," Kelly tried to approach her but she began to cry and she screamed even louder.

"Ellie!" Andy hit her I the arm, "Shut up!"

"Excuse me?" Matt turned to look at his son, "We don't use words like that. And you know you don't hit your sister."

"But she's annoying," Andy complained.

"Mean!" Ellie bite him on the arm.

"Ouch!" Andy went to hit her again but Matt picked him up and Kelly grabbed Ellie.

"I'll try and put her down for a n-a-p," Kelly said.

"Good idea," Matt smiled appreciatively as he carried Andy towards the washroom.

"I'll come and help," Brianne stood and walked behind Kelly as he carried the toddler up the stairs and into a light pink room. "Ah a princess room," She thought was appropriate, "And who's this?" She asked picking up a framed picture on the dresser; it was of a woman he didn't recognize.

Kelly answered without looking at it, "That's Leslie Shay; Ellie's named after her. She and Gabby were best friends and she and I uh-" He couldn't find the words to finish his sentence.

"Right," She placed the picture back down and didn't say another word about it. She had heard Kelly briefly mention the name a few times but had never got any details out of him.

"Sleepie Lelly," Ellie yawned as she hugged her teddy bear Kelly close and closed her eyes.

"Good," Kelly kissed her forehead and then lifted up the rails on the bed, "Good night sweetheart," He blew her a kiss and turned on her baby monitor before leaving the room and opening the door just a little.

"You're a natural," Brianne smiled as they walked down the stairs, "You ever think of having kids of your own?"

"Yeah," He shrugged, "Came close a few times but I guess it was never the right time."

"Ah," She nodded;

Jacob cradled in her arms Gabby went back into the kitchen with the knowledge she was still making thanksgiving dinner, "What are you guys doing?" She gasped as she saw her mother, Laura and Eva all working on various things, "I said I could handle it."

Her mother turned to her and sighed, "Gabriela I love you but you're not thinking straight; you have a new baby who needs you, a two year old who needs you and a four year old that needs you. Your family comes first; I thought you knew that. We can do all of thus you just look after yourself; go and take a nap the boys can handle Andy for a few hours.

"Mom I-"

"Aunt Gabby," Eva sighed, "It'll be okay; I want you to sleep can you do that?"

She gave her niece a tired smile, "I can try," She nodded and carried Jacob back up the stairs and into the master bedroom; she put Jacob in his cradle and then laid on the bed; not surprisingly it didn't take her long to fall asleep. When she awoke she woke to the smell of turkey. She got up to see how Jacob was doing but found the cradle empty. _Why didn't I hear him wake up?_ She brushed her now messy hair and walked quickly down the stairs.

"Mommy!" Andy ran up to her bouncing on the balls of his feet, "Guess what?"

"What baby?" She moved some hair away from her face.

"Daddy said that he's going to take me with him!"

"Take you where?"

"When he helps people with snowy driveways. Like old people," He grinned proudly up at her.

"Oh he is," Gabby smiled, she and Matt had talked about Andy going to help Matt out sometimes but nothing had been decided yet, from the couch his husband whispered an 'I'm sorry' and Gabby looked back down at her son for more information.

"Diego's going too," He grinned, "But Daddy's going to pay him. Uncle Antonio said no."

"I see," She was starting to get a general understanding of what had happened. "When did this all happen?" She sat down on Matt's lap a looked around at her family and friends.

"Awhile ago he's just been excited to tell you," Matt told her, "You have a good nap."

"Yeah," She nodded but then stood up, "I should go see what I can do to help in the kitchen."

"Babe they have everything under control," Matt tried to tell her with no luck she still walked into he kitchen, "Sorry I fell asleep."

"No, no Gabriela," Esmerelda looked sternly at her, "You'll have plenty of time to cook family dinners but right now is not one of them. You're to stubborn for your own good sometimes and I'm glad Ellie's just like you," She shook her head and walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek.

"Why?"

"So that you can see all of the struggles I went through when you were her age," She explained, "She's been refusing to leave the kitchen, and lets just sat things haven't been easy" She explained and she pointed to where Ellie was now attempting to touch the pie batter Eva was making.

"Oh no?" She shook her head, "Ellie," She walked up to her daughter with the intention of talking to her but saw her in her apron and little chef's hat and a huge smile.

"Mommy! I elp! Lots!" She told her proudly.

"Yeah, You been helping Eva with the pie?"

"Oh yeah she's been lots of help," Eva explained with sarcasm.

"Mommy look," Ellie dipped her hand into the batter and began to stir it like Eva had been doing.

"Ellie!" Eva exclaimed in frustration, "Don't do that!"

Ellie began to cry and Eva just rolled her eyes; she knew her cousin wasn't really upset and just trying to get what she wanted.

"Ellie Eva's right," Gabby told her, "You need to listen to her. When she asks for your help you can help."

"No!" She threw her hands up and cried even louder, "Lelly bear!" She screamed, "Lelly!"

"Did I hear my name?" Kelly appeared seconds later carrying Ellie's teddy bear Kelly and her new baby doll Kelly.

"Lelly!" She looked up at him, her tears now gone.

"Come here princess," Kelly picked her up, "Lets go and play. I miss you, you've been in here all day."

"Oday," She happily agreed, never being able nor wanting to say no to playing with Kelly.

"Good," He carried her out of the kitchen.

"He's been trying that since she woke up half an hour ago," Laura explained to Gabby, "Matt even tried a few times, didn't work, maybe what she really wanted was to see you."

"Yeah maybe," Gabby nodded, "So can I at least help?"

"Yes," Esmerelda told her smiling, "You can always help dear.

 **THE END**

* * *

 **A\N:** I hope you liked this.


	11. For Mommy

**A\N:** This one-shot is dedicated to my friend who is the proclaimed biggest fan of this series hope you like it girl xoxo.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, NBC or Global

 **Spoilers:** None

 **Warnings:** None

* * *

 **For Mommy**

"Come on Daddy!" Andy tugged on Matt's hand, "I'm all finished!" He tried to pull his father up from his chair, "Lets go!"

"Andy," He chuckled at how cute his son was being; he was so excited to go and help him shovel out an elderly couple's driveway. "You go and get your snow pants and coat on I'm almost finished breakfast. Plus we need to wait for Mommy to come downstairs.

"Oh okay," Andy sighed and did what he was told.

"Your oatmeal is getting cold sweetie," Matt told Ellie as he looked at her untouched breakfast, "Aren't you hungry?"

The toddler huffed loudly and frowned, "No!"

"Daddy!" Andy ran back into the room with one boot on Gabby walking in after him Jacob in a sling around her.

"Someone's anxious to go," She laughed,

"Daddy!" Andy whined.

"Alright bud," He stood and brought his dish and glass to the dishwasher, "Say goodbye to Mommy and your brother and sister."

"Bye!" Andy waved and rushed out of the room.

Matt looked back after him and as about to call him back and Gabby's hand touched his shoulder, "Don't worry about I Babe; he's so excited."

"Yeah," He nodded and turned his head kissing her on the lips and then the forehead of his now one-month-old son, "Bye buddy," He kissed him, "You be good for Mommy."

"Oh its not him you need to worry about," She said under her breath as she looked at Ellie who still hadn't touched her breakfast, "If I was like this when I was her age I have no idea how my mother dealt with me," She sighed and shook her head.

"The same way you are," He kissed her again, "With lots of patience because you're a great mother; remember your mother offered to help too.'

"Yeah, yeah I know," Ever since Christmas Ellie had been having more and more temper tantrums and meltdowns a day, in only the second week on January Gabby and Matt were at their wits end. Multiple people including Kelly had offered to help out but Gabby didn't want Ellie to see Kelly right now, as she hadn't been good at all. "Maybe I'll call my Mom," She knew her mother would help her be strict and lay down the law for Ellie, Kelly not so much; he almost always opted to give her whatever she wanted.

"Daddy!" Andy came back into the kitchen pouting, "Lets go!"

'Alright bud," He gave Gabby anther kiss on the lips and Jacob another kiss and went over to Ellie, "Bye sweetheart," He leaned down to kiss her.

"NO!" She screamed and moved her head away so her father couldn't kiss her. "NO!" She repeated again with an angry frown.

"Ellie," Matt looked at her sternly. "You don't yell at me!"

Ellie frowned and began to cry.

"Great," Gabby huffed in annoyance, she knew Ellie had to learn not to yell like that but she was hoping for a good start to the day, "Thanks a lot Matt."

"Sorry," He said although he wasn't as sorry as his wife wanted him to be, "She needs to know she can't yell at me like that."

"She's two Matt, two year olds have temper tantrums and its best not to argue with them over everything. That wasn't worth getting her so upset. Now you get to go and I have to deal with her," She glared, "Just leave!"

"Fine," Matt walked out of the kitchen and into the coat room where Andy was just putting on his coat, "Here buddy let me help you," He did up the zipper and helped him put on his scarf and gloves." He then got his coat and hat and mites on and took Andy's hand as they walked out to the truck Andy picking up his new shovel along the way.

The drive to the house didn't take to long and they were only a few minutes' late even though Matt had to drive slower due to the heavy snow and ice on the roads. "Now remember Andy, we're here to work I don't want to playing in the snow." He told his son as he parked his truck on the road.

"I know Daddy," Andy tried to undo his booster seat buckle but failed. "Help please."

"Of course I can help you," Matt reached over and undid the booster seat and then he undid his seat belt and got out of the car and helped Andy step down from the truck.

"Daddy!" Andy tugged on his father's hand as he saw two elderly people walk out of the house, "Daddy!"

"In a minute be patient," He instructed, he was busy unloading the truck.

"But Daddy," Andy tried again, "Daddy look!" He almost pleaded.

"Andy," He turned to face his son and saw out of the corner of his eye Mr. and Mrs. Catona who they were shovelling the snow for, "Thanks bud," He touched his son's hat gently, "Come on," He motioned for Andy to follow him up the driveway, "It's slippery hold on," He held out his hand for Andy to take, which he did.

"Well aren't you just the cutest little boy ever," The woman gushed as she saw Andy, "You must be Andy your Daddy's told us all about you," She grinned.

"I'm just like Daddy!" Andy exclaimed proudly, "I'm four!"

"Oh a big boy," The woman softly chuckled, "I'm glad you're here to help."

"Andy this is Mr. and Mrs. Catona go and say hi."

"Hi Ma'am, hi Sir," He smiled.

"Ma'am and Sir," The man looked amazed, "I don't think I've heard that since my days in the army."

"My uncle was in the army," Andy told them, "And my cousin wants to be in it. But my aunt said no. Diego said he won't get hurted though."

"Hurt. He won't get hurt and Diego doesn't know that," Matt explained to him, "Now lets let Mr. and Mrs. Catona get back inside where it's warm."

"Okay Daddy," Andy nodded his head and followed his farther back out into the driveway.

* * *

"Ellie!" Gabby said angrily, "No throwing toys!" She said as the toddler began throwing toy in every direction, "Your brother's sleeping!"

"NO!" She screamed and continued throwing toys.

"Elisabeth Leslie Casey!" She yelled her daughter's full name as she took her arm to stop her from throwing more toys, "You need to listen!"

Ellie hit her and then threw herself to the floor in a fit of rage.

"No hitting!" She tried to stand her up but Ellie wouldn't stand

"You're going to bed early!" She pulled her daughter up and carried her up the stairs and into her room where she put her in bed.

"NO! NO! NO!" Ellie fought her and did everything she could to not lay down. She threw all her toys and hit her mother multiple times.

"Enough!" She forced her into bed as gently as she could and tucked the covers in tightly around her so she'd have a hard time getting out. She told herself she'd never be one of those parents that would restrain there children but Ellie had been as worse as she'd ever been. She'd barley eaten breakfast and refused to listen to anything Gabby said had fought her as she changed her diaper. She bite Jacob twice, after throwing her lunch and milk and then asked for more. Gabby was at her wits end when she decided to throw toys.

Checking on Jacob Gabby ran a hand through her hair and took a deep breath, "I can't deal with her alone," She knew she'd do something she'd regret in the afternoon if Ellie's behaviour continued. So ignoring her toddler's cries she went downstairs and called her mother.

"Gabriela," Esmeralda picked up on the second ring, "What a nice surprise phone call; I hope at least," She and her daughter were close so Gabby would often call just to talk but she was sensing something was wrong.

"Is your offer to come and help with Ellie still good?"

"Of course; did you want me to come over now?"

"As soon as you can," She replied, "Matt's out for the day with Andy and Ellie's been tearing the house apart since they left. She's barely eaten and she bit Jacob twice and she's been hitting me too I just know I'll do something I'll regret if I have to deal with her in the afternoon all alone."

"Of course, I'll be over after her nap."

"If she naps," Gabby rolled her eyes, "She's still screaming away! I checked her temperature and made sure she's okay, she's fine just acting like…."

"Like her mother," Esmeralda finished and Gabby sighed, "Oh sweetheart you know that's not a bad thing. She's strong and stubborn and is single-minded. Those are all great qualities to have but in a toddler they can come out in all the wrong ways."

"Yeah," She agreed, "I know I've said it before but if I was this bad I apologize,"

"I wouldn't have had it any other way," She laughed, "You certainly kept all of us on our toys, especially your brother. You'd whine and cry whenever he had friends over and would have temper tantrums when Laura started coming around on a regular basics, you hated her for years."

"I did?" Gabby could never imagine hating her sister in-law who today was one of her best friends.

"Oh yeah," She confirmed, "It wasn't until you were around five that you started warming up to her and by eight you couldn't get enough of her."

"Yeah I remember that," Laura would take her shopping with her and do things with her an eight year old though to embarrassing to do with her mother. She told Laura everything and she was always there to help her no matter what. That's one of the reasons she was determined be the same for Eva as it made a huge difference for her to have a woman to talk to that wasn't her mother but who she could trust.

"Well I'll let you go," Esmeralda hung up the phone, "I'll see you soon."

Esmeralda was over in an hour just as Gabby was getting a very cranky and unhappy Ellie set up with quiet toys. "Mom," She smiled gratefully as she saw her mother was already in the living room, "And Eva," She looked surprised to see her niece there as well.

"Hi aunt Gabby," The eighteen year old grinned.

"Hi, I didn't expect to see you here," She admitted.

"Well It's Saturday and I don't' have classes on Friday's so I got some homework done yesterday. I heard about you needing help I figured I could," She shrugged and went to sit beside her two-year-old cousin who was sucking on her soother and rubbing her eyes.

"Oh no," Gabby looked sternly at Ellie, "You sleepy Mommy takes you upstairs?"

Ellie began to cry as she looked at Eva, "Eua," She clung to her.

"Aw," She picked up the young girl and cuddled her, "Aunt Gabby can I tuck her in? I'll stay with her."

"You can try tucking her in but don't stay with her, she needs to get used to sleeping in her own bed and not with other people," She eyed her niece sternly.

Making sucking noises as she sucked on her soother Ellie rubbed her eyes and walked up to Gabby; she looked up at her and held up her arms as her tiny fists opened and closed and her eyes did the same.

"Oh baby," Gabby immediately picked her daughter up and cradled her in her arms, no matter how much of a handful she could he she'd never stop loving her.

Ellie snuggled closely into her mother and fell asleep immediately.

"Oh," Gabby kissed her forehead, "My sweet girl," She whispered gently and ever so quietly moved her onto the couch and put a blanket around her as she gave her Kelly bear to clutch. Rolling over Ellie cuddled her bear and went into a deeper.

"She's so cute," Eva, grinned, "She's simply adorable."

"Yeah when she's sleeping," Gabby smirked, "But no you're right," She said more seriously, "She's cure but she's a little trouble maker. Do you mind cleaning up the room, I'm going to see if she'll sleep in her room."

"Sure," One look around he room and Eva could see the toys and books needed to be put away."

"And I'll go and make lunch," Esmeralda stood, "I think I know something healthy Ellie might eat."

"She's an okay eater," Gabby told her, "She just has to like it."

"We'll I have a pretty good feeling she will," Esmeralda smiled. "Trust me."

"I do."

* * *

"Daddy I'm tired," Andy dragged his feet over to his father who was still working on shovelling the driveway, "I'm tired!" He whined again.

"I know bud," Matt looked at him, he'd done better then most four year olds probably would have. He had helped clear off the walkway a lot and had even helped clear some of the driveway. He'd worked for a good hour and a half before he started saying he was tired and hungry and he wanted to go home.

"Daddy," He pouted again, it wasn't that he was used to getting what he wanted but he was difficult to handle when he was tired, his anger really started to come out. "I want to go home! Now!"

"I need to finish this first," Matt looked at him sternly, "And you don't tell me what to do!"

Andy frowned and crossed his arms in a huff, "No!"

"Andrew are you going to help me with this?" He used his son's full name, "Or are you going to complain, the more you complain the longer this takes."

"I'm tired," He whined again but after watching his father go back to shovelling he got his much smaller one and began helping again. He was much slower then he was before and sometimes Matt wished he just wouldn't help. Other times he looked at him and was bursting with pride at the thought of his four-year-old son willingly helping out other people ahead of himself.

It was another hour later when the driveway was finished and Andy looked up at his father, "We did it!" He grinned proudly, "Yay!" He smiled and to took off running towards the house and as hard as he could he knocked on the door.

Mr. Catona opened it a few seconds later, "Oh look at that," He grinned, "You and your Daddy did a great job. You must be very proud."

"I am!" He grinned, "I helped! I'm going to tell Diego and Uncle Antonio and Uncle Kelly and-"

"Okay bud," Matt chuckled lightly placing a hand on his son's shoulder, "I'm sure they're all be proud of you," Andy could talk when he wanted to and was hard to slow down when he got on one of his rants.

"Here you go," Mr. Catona handed Matt a cheque, "For the past month, and he leaned down and reached into his pocket, "This is for you," He gave Andy a twenty dollar bill.

"Oh no," Matt immediately shook his head, "That's far too generous. Andy you say thank you and give it back."

Not really understanding what he'd just been given Andy did as he was told and looked up at both adults in confusion, "That's money. You buy things like toys and candy."

"That's right but you don't need any of those things," Matt told him.

"I like the bald haired guy. He's funny."

"He means the one dollar bill but-" Before Matt could finish his sentence Mr. Catona had handed Andy a one dollar bill instead of the twenty.

The four year old giggled, "Daddy he's funny!"

"Uh-uh," Matt couldn't say no to one dollar especially if it made his son so happy. "You say thank you."

"Thank you Sir," Andy wrapped his arms around Mr. Catona's legs and smiled up at him.

"You're welcome, little man you come back any time with your Daddy."

"Oh boy!" He grinned happily, "Daddy did you hear that? Just us, no Ellie or Jacob. Yay!"

"We'll see," He told his son, "Thanks again," He said and took Andy's hand and walked down the steps towards his truck he'd parked on the side of the road.

"Daddy," Andy said as he climbed into his car seat, "Does Mommy like candy?"

"Yeah your mother loves candy," He smiled at how much peanut butter based candy she had eaten during her pregnancy with Ellie.

"I want to buy her some!" He waved around his dollar bill, "You buy her lots of pretty things."

Matt had to laugh; he did like to spoil his wife as much as she'd allow him to, which was only on her birthdays and mothers day. It just so happed that he always took the kids shopping with him to buy those gifts. "Yeah I do."

"Then I do too! Can we go to the candy store?"

Matt couldn't day no to Andy wanting to buy something for his mother, it was showing generosity especially considering he loved the one dollar bill so much. Matt knew most candy would cost more then a dollar but he didn't have the heart to tell his son that.

"I'll tell you what," He said as he started the car, "We'll spilt it, you give me your dollar and I'll pay for the candy too alright.'

"Oh your colourful cards?"

"Sure on a credit card."

"I like those too," He smiled, "How much money are they?"

"It depends on how much we spend."

"Okay," This seemed to ease his curiosity on the subject and he turned to look out the window smiling as they stopped so a fir truck could pass.

"Oh Daddy! Daddy! DADDY! DADDY A FRE TRUCK!"

"Yeah bud there going to save people."

"I want to be a fire fighter," Andy told him, "I'm going to tell Uncle Antonio."

"I'm sure Uncle Antonio will be happy for you," Matt told him. Andy had always loved spending time with Gabby's older brother and he loved going to the police station and talking to all of the people who worked for him.

Antonio was now the Sergeant of the Intelligence Unit so Andy enjoyed sitting at the desk in his office and looking out at the bullpen and pretending to be in charge. He liked all of the young officers that were in the unit. As it had expanded since its conception when Antonio had fist joined. There were now fourteen officers and seven detectives working for Antonio and some of them had lots of stories to tell Andy.

Erin Lindsay, Kevin Atwater, Kim Burgress and Kyle Ruzek and Jay Halstead had all known his parents for a long time. He loved listening to their stories about how they first met them and what they did. He also loved seeing Erin and Jay's young sons at CFD and CPD events and would always play with them.

Matt and Andy arrived at the store and Andy excitedly got out of the truck and pulled his father into the store. He looked around at all of the candy and flowers and saw a box of different chocolates, "That one!" He pointed to it, "Is it on your card?"

Matt picked up the box and looked at the price, it was twenty dollars, one of the cheaper things Andy could have picked out, "Sure and lets get her some flowers too."

"Yay!" Andy cheered and looked up at the cash counter, "I can't see!"

"Here," Matt lifted him up and sat him on the counter.

"Hi," He smiled at the teenage cashier, "You're pretty," He smiled at her, "Like Mommy," He noticed she had darker coloured skin and brown eyes like Gabriela.

"Well you're a little charmer," She grinned, "I bet you have lots of little girlfriends."

"I like girls, but maybe to kiss later," He told her, "Mommy's my favourite, these are for Mommy."

"Well I'm sure your Mommy will love them," She told him, "You look a lot like your Daddy."

"My Daddy's a hero! He saves people everyday!"

"Oh," The girl wasn't sure what to say but luckily Andy continued.

"Daddy's a firefighter. He saves people."

"Alright Andy," Matt put his credit card back into his wallet, "Lets go say bye."

"Bye," Andy said as Matt put him on the floor and took his hand as they walked out of the store.

"Sir!" The girl called causing Matt to turn around, "When I was three my families house caught on fire. Everyone else got out but I didn't. A firefighter saved me. I just want to say thank you, I got to thank the fire fighter a few years ago but thank you from all of the people to save. Just thank you."

"Oh," He smiled at her, "You're very welcome." And with that he and Andy turned to leave the store.

Twenty minutes later Andy and Matt arrived back at home and Andy rushed into the house carrying the box of chocolates proudly, "Mommy!" He ran to her at full speed crashing into her legs, "You're the best Mommy ever!"

"Aw," She lifted him up and kissed his cheek, "Thank you so much."

"These are for you," He handed her the chocolates.

"Oh," She looked at Matt who was carrying the flowers, "What did I do to deserve all of this?"

"Do we need a reason to spoil you?" He walked up to her and kissed her, "By the way I can't take credit for it, it was all Andy."

"I love you!" Andy hugged her again and then saw Eva and Ellie, Eva carefully carrying Ellie down the stairs.

"Mommy!" Eva sat Ellie on the ground and the two year old ran up to her, "I'm Mommy!" She said proudly.

"Oh," Gabby turned to look at her daughter, her heart swelling with love, shorting after she'd woken up Ellie ha wanted to play dress-up with her clothes and Eva had offered to watch her. That was almost two hours ago. "Look at you. You are."

"I'm like Mommy!" She smiled proudly.

"I'm going to have a problem with boys I just no it," Matt looked at his daughter and shook his head. She was absolutely gorgeous at two and although he was biased he knew she'd be breathtakingly beautiful when she was older, just like her mother.

"Marry Lelly!" She grinned.

"Come here," Matt laughed and picked her up, "You want to marry Uncle Kelly?"

The two year old nodded her head happily, "Lelly!"

Matt just laughed and hugged her even tighter.

"Waa!" Jacob wailed as he woke up from his nap, "Waa!"

Giving Andy a kiss on the forehead Gabby set him on the ground and headed up to the nursery where her younger son lay wailing in his crib, "Mommy's here," She soothed as she walked into the room and picked him up, "Come here," She held him closely and walked towards the rocking chair and lifted up her shirt to begin feeding him. Right away he took to her nipple and began sucking.

"I'm the luckiest woman in the world," She whispered to herself as she kissed her son's head and thought about all that her children did for her everyday.

 **TBC**

* * *

 **A\N:** I hope you liked it.


	12. Andy's Excellent Adventure

**A\N:** This one-shot has the children spending the weekend with Antonio, Laura, Eva and Diego. Andy gets into some trouble as well.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own anything

 **Spoilers:** Chicago PD's 1.01 "Stepping Stone" & 1.02 "Wrong Side of the Bars"

 **Warinings:** None

* * *

 **Trouble**

"No! No! No! No!" Andy threw all of his packed clothes out of his suitcase and as he found nothing left he plopped down on the floor, "Auntie Laura!" He called out as he stood and walked out of the room, "I need help!"

"In a minute!" She said as she quickly took a ponytail out of her mouth, "Eva!" She called, "Go help your cousin!"

"Yeah," The eighteen year old stepped out of her room, her make-up only half on, "Andy what do you need?" She tried not to sound annoyed at the four year old.

"I want to dress like Diego," He told her, "But I can't."

Eva held in a sigh; it wasn't that she didn't love her younger brother she did. He was just that, her younger brother and he'd always be weird to her. That's why she found it a little weird Andy wanted to dress like him. "Why?"

"Diego! Diego! Diego! Diego!" Andy ran to his cousin's room and ponded on the door, "DIEGO!"

"What?" The fourteen year old exclaimed as he poked his head out the door.

"I need help!" Diego tugged his hand.

"Hang on!" Diego finished getting his shirt on before being dragged down the hallway and into the guest room, "Wow what happened little man?" He questioned.

"I don't have any clothes like yours!" He exclaimed and made it sound like it was the worst thing in the world.

"Okay so what's the problem?"

"I think that is the problem," Eva spoke up walking into the room, "I remember you used to dress up like Dad all the time."

"Uncle Antonio's cool," Andy made a side-comment as he looked around the room at his clothes.

"Well bud…" Diego wasn't sure what to suggest. Previous years when they'd watched his cousins, it hadn't seemed this hard. He guessed only having two to look after was easier and it probably didn't help that Ellie wasn't letting Laura do anything with her hair, forget about getting her dressed for the day.

"Diego… Laura was ready to explode as she walked into the room and her nephew still wasn't ready, "We're already late bud." She felt bad enough she needed to ask on of her employee's to open for her when it was her day to open.

"Auntie Laura!" He cried, "I can't go!"

"Why not?"

"Because I have to look like Diego!"

"Oh boy," She shook her head. They'd ben warned of this. The four year old would sometimes refuse to leave unless me looked like a male role model, usually his father but sometimes her husband too. "Well I can spike your hair?" She suggested.

"No," He sulked.

"Well sweetie Diego's wearing jeans and a shirt can you just wear that?"

"No," He shook his head, "Can I stay with Diego, please?"

"I don't know…?"

"I'll fine Mom," Diego assured her, "You and Eva can look after Ellie and Jacob at the bakery and I'll look after Andy."

"What about your homework?" Diego had an English report due in the coming weeks and needed to work on it.

"I'll work on it," He promised, "I'm just trying to help here."

'All right Diego," She nodded and he smiled.

"Yay!" Andy grinned happily.

"All right but call me if you need anything," She went to kiss her son's cheek and hugged Andy. "You listen to your cousin."

"Okay Auntie Laura," Diego promised.

"Alright bud," Diego turned to his cousin, "Lets get you dressed. Do you want to take a bus to a really cool park where we can go tobogganing?"

"Uh-huh," He happily nodded his head and put on the clothes Laura had originally set out for him. He got on his coat and snow pants and hat and mites and Diego helped him do everything up. Then they set off for the bus stop.

"Here bud," Diego paid and then led him to a seat, "You sit here alright, I don't want you standing."

"Okay Diego," Andy agreed and sat down enjoying looking out of the window as it drove through the district. The park in question was very close to District twenty-one and they passed it on the way. And might not have recognized it but he knew what it was after seeing firehouse fifty-one.

"Diego, can we see Uncle Antonio?" He asked his cousin s he pulled on his jacket, "Please?"

"Uncle Antonio's working on a big case," He told him what he had been told many times before, "Lets just have a fun day at the park."

"But…" He pouted, "Please?"

"Maybe," He relented, "Here take my hand," He got the two toboggan's and took his younger cousins hand as they walked off the bus and to the busy park.

* * *

"Thanks for opening for me today Cherrie!" Laura said to her store manager as she rushed into the bakery carrying Jacob's car seat, Eva holding Ellie's hand and walking behind.

"That's alright I remember you telling me you were watching your niece and nephews this weekend. I know getting young kids ready can be a real challenge. How many times have you covered for me when I've been late getting my kids to day care? It's not a problem."

"Well thank you," Laura smiled, "This is Jacob, he's two months old and the one with Eva is Ellie she's two."

"Hi," Ellie smiled.

"Well aren't you adorable with you hair all in braids. I've always wanted a daughter."

"Anie Aura air, She touched her braids."

"Yeah I did your hair but not with a struggle," She shook her head, "Mommy was right you love have your hair done in fancy dues but have no patience to wait for it to be done."

"Ah she's a busy little girl I presume," Cherrie watched as under Eva's close eye Ellie began walking around the store and looking at all of the items.

"Yeah," Laura confirmed, "She's go, go, go, all the time. Just like her mother, my sister in-law."

"You're close to her parents right?"

"Oh yeah, her mother is like my little sister. I've known her since she was a little older then Ellie. Her and my husband are ten years apart and I met Antonio when we were twelve."

"Right I remember you mentioning that before," She remembered, "So what should I watch out for?"

"Oh you don't have to watch her, you should have a break from kids for the day. She's really a good kid, she's just busy and very curious plus she's stubborn so telling her no will only make her want to do something more. She an be a challenge for sure."

"I have two boys I know what that's like; and its okay I'll keep an eye out for her. My boys are with my parents today so they're happy, they love staying with grandma and grandpa they tend to spoil them rotten."

"Ah, my parents are the same way with my kids."

"Petty!" Ellie pressed her face up to the counter window and looked at the cupcakes with bright pink icing, "Ellie one?"

"Later Ellie, maybe after lunch alright?"

"No! Too long!" She shook her head.

"How about we go and make our own cupcakes?" Eva suggested, "That way we can have some fun before lunch. What do you say?"

"Yay Eua!" She nodded happily and walked to her and took her hand.

"Alright then," She picked her up and carried her into the kitchen. "Now lets get out everything we need," She pulled out a cupcake recipe she knew how to make and sat Ellie on the counter as she began getting out some of the baking materials they'd need and putting them within a closer range.

"Me hep?" Ellie looked up at her and asked.

"Of course you can help. You can mix all of the ingredients together. But why don't we get your apron on first, come on," She took her into her arms and carried her into her mother's office where her backpack was. Pulling the pink apron out she put it on her cousin and they took her back into the kitchen.

The bakery was busier then usual and by eleven o'clock there was already a huge line-up to check out.

"Eva!" Laura called to the back, "Come and help please!

"Stay here," Eva looked at Ellie who eve though was sitting up high on the counter could easily access all of the ingredients that were still out.

"Oday," She nodded and Eva went off to help her mother in the front. Ellie waited for as long as she could (three minutes) before she reached her hands into the batter and they put them on the cookie sheet and flattened them.

She licked her hands and smiled proudly, "Fun."

She looked and no one was coming so she repeated the process this time reaching for the sprinkles a dumping it all in the batter and squirting all the icing she could get into it as well. She stirred it around and dipped her hands into it and then licked them again before squishing her hand on the baking sheet once more. Licking her hand again she notched something was missing.

"Yummy but ugar" She did it again and then crawled carefully to the sugar and tried to drag it to the bowl she didn't get very far but she did manage to dump it on the ground, luckily though it wasn't opened so it didn't spill out.

"Ooh," She saw the flour and reached for it, "White!" She dumped the bag over her head before letting it fall to the ground as well. "Ha," She laughed and dropped the eggs next.

"Alright Ellie… Ellie!"

* * *

"Again! Again!" Andy giggled happily as he stood up out of the sled. "Lets go again!"

"Alright bud."

Diego took both toboggan's by the handle and began pulling them back up to the top of the hill Andy walking behind him. Waiting there turn to go down Andy saw some older children go down backwards.

"Can I do that?" He asked hopefully.

"What? Go down backwards? Maybe but its pretty dangerous."

"I'll be okay," He promised, "Please?"

"Okay Andy," Diego couldn't really see the danger in it as long as he watched him closely.

"Yay!" He cheered and found an empty spot on the hill and sat down backwards on the toboggan, "Push me please."

"Remember wait for me at the bottom," Andy said and gave his cousin's sled a push and smiled as he could hear Andy laugh as he went down the big hill.

Diego went down backwards as well and reached the bottom. As he got up his cell phone began to vibrate and he reached for it in the pocket of his snow pants. Opening the plastic bag he'd put it he unwrapped it from the cloth and answered it.

"Hey Eva."

"Hey," She replied back although she sounded stressed, "Where are you?"

"At the park near District 21, why?"

"Because I just finished cleaning up the huge mess Ellie made in the kitchen. I think watching her here was a big mistake."

"Well Mom did-"

"I know she did!" She snapped, she hated it when he told her she was wrong, "Can we just meet up somewhere and watch them together?"

"Sure, want to take the bus to the park? Or I can go bring Andy down to the bakery and we can have lunch there and then head out. Maybe go down to Navy Pier. Lots to do down there for them.

"That sounds good. I'm glad Mm still has the stroller in the car, Ellie can have her nap in it while were out.

"Alright, well be there soon." He hung up the phone, "Hey bud we're-" He turned around but Andy was gone.

"Andy! Andy! Andy come on this isn't funny!" Nothing. "Oh no, oh, no!" He began panicking his mind racing with all of the possibilities of what could have happened to his cousin. Was there anyone that looked like then didn't belong right before the phone call? He didn't see anyone but then it could have been anyone. But Andy wouldn't go with them would he? He knew not to go with strangers under any circumstances. Then most kids did, didn't they?

"Ma'am, Sir!" He rushed to a family and directed his question to the parents, "My four year old cousin, he's wearing a red and black coat and, a red hat… I turned my back for ten seconds and he's gone! Did you see him?"

"No sorry," The woman apologized, "Maybe he wandered off somewhere."

"No, I looked! Oh! What I'm I going to do!"

"There's a police station just down there," The woman pointed down he street, "I'm sure the cops can help you."

"Right, thanks." He momentarily forgot about that. He couldn't go there though his father would give him the riot act. Surely no one would ever forgive him if he let Andy get kidnapped. He had no choice though needed to go to the police. "I'll go and do that," He nodded to the family once more and then set off as fast as he could to the District, he rushed through the door and straight up to the front desk.

"I need to see my Dad! Sergeant Antonio Dawson!" He told the desk Sergeant, "It's an emergency! I don't care what he's doing! I need to see him! Right now!"

"Okay, son slow down," Sergeant Platt advised, "It's Diego right?"

"Yeah."

"Alright," He pressed a button on her phone.

"Diego? What's wrong?"

Turing at the sound of his voice he sighed with relief to see Detective Kyle Ruzek and Detective Kevin Atwater looking at him.

"It's my cousin Andy! We were… I was watching him and then I was on the phone and he was gone! That was fifteen minutes ago, I looked for him but he isn't near the park! I can't believe I let him get kidnapped!"

"Wow, wow," Ruzek stepped towards him, "We don't know that's what happened. Maybe he just went to find a washroom or just wandered off, either way we'll find him all right. Let's go upstairs as you can tell us everything.

"His father's-" Platt didn't get to finish her sentence as Antonio came running down the stairs at top speed.

"Diego! What's wrong!" He ran to his son, his mind swirling with ideas of what could have happened. "Where's Andy? No answer, Diego-"

"I don't know!" He finally allowed himself to cry, "I don't know where he is! I was talking to Eva and then I turned back to get him and he was gone. Dad I looked all around the park I really did. He isn't there. Aunt Gabby and Uncle Matt are going to hate me! I hate me!"

"We don't know anything Diego," Antonio put both hands on his shoulders, "Now walk me through what happened."

'I just did! Dad, this is serious!"

"I know it is. Here lets go upstairs all right, w can talk in my office.

"Dad we can't talk! We need to go look for him, we can't wait!"

"Diego we need to get more information."

"No just come to the park with me! I can show you what happened, there, what if he got away from them and is looking for me! Dad! I don't want him to have the same nightmares I did!"

There it was, one of the many reasons he was so freaked out. Six years ago, when he was eight years old he was kidnapped and held for nearly two days by a Columbian Drug Cartel. They found him and physically he was fine but emotionally and psychologically he was a mess. He needed weekly therapy for a year and even then the nightmares still came on and off. He would never be able to forget what had happened to him.

"I know you don't; and were going to do everything we can to make sure he doesn't, now lets go over this on my office, you need some water your going to have a panic attack."Diego," He grabbed his shoulders and took him upstairs and led him into his office where he forced him into a chair and gave him a bottle of water, "Here drink this and tell me in as much detail as you can remember what happened.

Diego did as he was told and drank almost all of the water before stopping. He explain what they'd been doing and how Andy had wanted to come visit him and ended with Eva's phone call.

"Okay," Antonio walked towards hid office door, "You stay here alright I'll have one of the officers stay with you."

"Dad-"

"Diego it's not an option!"

He nodded and slumped further down into his chair.

It had been two hours and still there were no leads, Antonio was just about to call Gabby when three of his officers came up the entrance two of them holding Andy's hands.

"Where was he?" He asked rushing to his nephew's side as fast as he could, "Is he hurt?"

"Tell your Uncle where you were," One of the officers prompted.

"Downstairs," He smiled.

"What? He was here the whole time?"

"We found him trying to get into the gun cage Sir. He tried to run away but he caught him.

"I'm having fun!" Andy grinned happily.

"Oh Andrew," He shook his head, "We need to talk. Thanks," He took his nephew's hands and thanked the uniformed officers.

"No problem Sir," They all said and then left.

"Come here Andrew," Antonio led the four year old into his office. "Sit down, we need to have a talk.

"Why?"

"Because what you did was not okay. You ran away from Diego and he didn't know where you were. He was scared you were hurt, we all were. Do not do that again. Running away is not okay."

He pouted, he'd never been in this much trouble before, "But I wanted to see you!"

"Diego said he'd bring you later."

"No! He needed to watch Ellie!" He cried, "She ruins everything."

"You're a big boy Andy; you need to use your words and talked I'm sure you still could have come to see me, but running away that's not alright. You're going to go home with Diego and do a few chores."

"No!"

"Not an option!" Antonio stood and took his arm and led him out into he bullpen and to where Diego was in the break room, "He ran away," He informed his son as he opened the door, "But we had a talk about it and I'm going to drive you home and he's going to work on a few things. No TV, just some work and thinking."

"Good idea," Diego was not happy with his cousin either, "Lets go," He took his hand.

"I'll call everyone and explain things," Antonio told him.

"Thanks," Diego nodded, "And thanks everyone," He said to the bullpen.

Multiple voices responded and still holing his cousin's hand tightly Andy walked down the stairs and out of the unit.

* * *

"Hi, Gabby, hi Matt," Laura greeted her sister in-law and her husband as she opened the door on Sunday night, "The kids are just finishing up dinner. How wad your weekend?"

"Great," Gabby nodded, "Thanks again for looking after them, hope they weren't' to much trouble."

"Oh you know they were alright," She wasn't going to mention the incident with Andy; she knew Antonio wanted to do that.

"Uh-oh what did they do?" Matt chuckled, half serious and half not.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Andy yelled and jumped off his chair and ran happily to his parents.

"Hey buddy." Matt lifted him up, "How was your weekend."

"It was fun I-"

"Come on Andy," Eva interrupted, "Let's get you cleaned up and go get your things alright?"

"Fine," He did as he was told and Matt placed him on the ground and he walked to Eva.

"Gabby, Matt can we talk in the kitchen?" Antonio wondered.

"Yeah sure," Gabby was getting worried something very bad had happened and she didn't like it. "What happened?" She looked at her older brother, and now nephew who had also joined them.

"First of all I'm really sorry Aunt Gabby," Diego spoke.

"Diego," Gabby tried to control he voice, "what happened?"

"I took Diego to a park near District 21 on Saturday to go tobogganing. We were there for about half an hour when Eva called me. I was talking to her for les then a minute and when I got off the phone I couldn't find Andy anywhere," He cringed as he saw the looks on his Aunt and Uncles' faces, "I went to see Dad and he had his team help find him. He was all right though he was in the police station the entire time. He just wanted to uh-" Diego tried to think of a polite way to say what he was thinking.

"He wanted to come see me and thought it was a big game. He was laughing about it, still think its kind of funny. I told him it wasn't and I was probably a bit to hard on him because he's been avoiding me but I wanted him to know what he did wasn't okay.

"No, no Antonio, I'll be even harder on him." Matt assured him, "Wasting your time like that," He shook his head, "He knows better then that."

"I think he's really feeling jealous." Diego tried to justify his cousin's actions, "We needed to leave the park because Ellie was giving Mom and Eva a really hard time. He wanted to see Dad so he just took off. I know what he did was wrong but in his mind maybe he just feels like he doesn't' belong.

"No,' Matt shook his head, "It still doesn't excuse what he did."

"Aunt Gabby," Diego turned to his aunt who still hadn't said a word, "I'm so sorry."

"Oh no, no Diego," She walked up to him and gave him a hug, "I just… I'm not sure what to think right now. It wasn't' your fault though."

"It wasn't your fault either Gabby," Antonio stepped in.

"Yeah but maybe we have been paying to much attention to Ellie. It just seems like Ellie's been bad so we give her all the attention and Andy just gets lost. I just feel so bad. I know it doesn't excuse what he did but I just… Diego's right it must be so hard for him."

"Yeah but he's old enough to know better," Matt pointed out, "I'll talk to him as soon as we get home."

"Yeah I will too," Gabby spoke up, "We'll make sure to explain to him that we'll try and give him some attention when he does good things and not just bad things.

"I think that's a good idea Babe."

 **TBC**


	13. Kelly's Announcement

**A\N:** I hope you like this one.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, NBC or Global

 **Spoilers:** None

 **Warnings:** None

* * *

 **Kelly's surprise visit**

"Ellie!" Gabby grabbed hold of the toddler, "It's time for your nap!" Both her and Matt had been trying to get the toddler down for over half an hour but she wouldn't settle.

"NO!" She shook her head and took off again.

"Elizabeth!" Gabby shook her head and took off after her again. She knew chasing her wasn't what the experts said to do but she didn't care at this point. "Come here!" She picked her up and held on to her tightly; "You need to listen!"

"Urting!" She began to sob.

"I'm sorry Ellie but you need to sleep."

"No!" She shook her head and tried to get out of her mother's hold.

"Elizabeth," Matt warned as he walked into the family room, "Your baby brother is sleeping. Do not wake him up. You need to go to sleep.

"Big bed?" She asked hopefully.

"Oh no," Gabby shook her head, "Your own bed. Now lets go."

"Mean," Ellie pouted and crossed her arms.

"Yes, yes Mommy's very mean," Gabby proceeded to carry her daughter up the stairs.

"Andy want to-" Matt called out but stopped when he sae his son wasn't in the family room watching TV, "Andy!" He called out, "You better not be hiding! This isn't funny!" He searched the family room and living room and the hallway before going into the kitchen, "ANDREW MATTHEW CASEY!"

The markers still in his hands Andy turned around from where he was colouring on the walls, "Hi Daddy."

"Andrew! Drop that marker right now!"

Andy did as he was told but was still smiling, something Matt found infuriating and disrespectful.

"Wipe that smirk off your face right now!" He ordered, "You sit here and tell me what you were thinking when you decided to colour on the walls in markers."

"It's fun," He didn't really answer the question, "Lots of fun."

"We're going to get some cleaner and you're going to clean all of it off!"

"But Daddy!" He whined, "Ellie didn't have to!"

Ellie had managed only a few scribbles when Gabby had caught her drawing on the walls; that was two days ago. "Your sisters younger then you and she did help clean it off."

"I hate being the oldest!" He huffed in annoyance.

"Well get used it." He didn't have any sympathy for him, "You're washing all of this off then you can do some other things."

"Dad-"

"No," Matt walked to the cleaning cupboard and unlocked the baby proof guard and got out cleaning supplies that were safe for Andy to use, "Get to work, "He set them on the ground and then left.

He was cleaning up the family room when the door bell rang, checking to see who it was he was shocked to see his very nervous looking best friend on the doorstep, "Hey man," Upon further examination he looked pale, "What's wrong?"

"I-don't-I…." He stepped into the house, "Brianne just told me- she-"

"Unca Lelly!" Ellie could get no further then the baby gate at the top of the stairs but she could clearly see her godfather.

"Not the best time Kelly," Gabby saw him as well and huffed in annoyance, as now it would be even harder to get Ellie down.

"Sorry," He spat back, "Shouldn't she already be sleeping?"

"Hey!" Matt glared at him, "Let us raise our children! Now if you want to keep insulting my family you can go but if you want to tell me what's wrong then-"

"Brianne's pregnant, six weeks."

"Oh…wow. She just told you?"

"Yeah, she came over with an ultrasound picture and I just had to get out of there."

"So coming here was the natural choice. You know because you're so bad with out children.

"Uncle Kelly!" Andy ran up to him and attempted to hug him but Matt stopped him.

"You go get back to work!"

"Andy lble!" Ellie pointed.

"You need to go to bed!" He shouted back. "Baby!"

"Hey, hey," Matt looked at Andy and Ellie, "Stop it."

"Bad name!" Ellie sobbed, "Bad!"

"Okay baby lets get you to bed," Gabby carried her into back down the hallway.

"I hate sisters," Andy crossed his arms, "I want to send her back!"

At the seriousness of the question Kelly had to laugh, "I don' think you can do that buddy. You're just going to have to live with her."

"Then I'll move!" He declared.

"Nobody's moving anywhere," Matt told him, "Now you go back and clean the wall. Now!"

Andy sighed but he did as he was told.

"So Brianne's pregnant?" Matt got back to the reason for his best friend's surprise visit, "You're going to be a great father."

"NO! NO BABY!" Ellie screamed as she ran to the top of the stairs, "Uncle Lelly!" She sobbed, "NO!"

"Ellie," Gabby tried to pick her up. It was now an hour past her naptime and she was over tired and Gabby knew this was only the tip; if she stayed awake much longer she'd be impossible the rest of the day.

"No, no, can I see her?"

Gabby glared at him but there was no way she could say no now, "Only if you want to put her to bed."

"Fine, I need the practice,"

"Lelly no baby?" Ellie pouted and shook her head.

"Sorry princess," Kelly reached out his arms to take her from Gabby as soon as they got to the bottom of the stairs, "Brianne and I are having a baby."

"No Ellie?" She looked at him, "No?" She asked once she didn't get an answer the first time.

Kelly knew his goddaughter fairly well but he didn't know what she was asking. He silently looked at hid best friends hoping they'd know.

"Are you worried Uncle Kelly wont have any time for you?" Gabby asked.

"Yed," Ellie nodded, "Baby away."

"No, no Ellie," Gabby shook her head, "You be nice," But it was pointless, she knew Ellie was rubbing her eyes but she wasn't going to be easy to put to bed.

"I'll always love you," Kelly kissed her forehead, "Always."

"Marry anne?"

"Marry Brianne?" He couldn't believe such a little girl, no matter how smart she was, would ask that type of question.

"Maybe."

"No Ellie?" She pouted.

"Oh sweetheart."

"Sweetie Uncle Kelly loved Brianne and he had to marry someone his own age," Matt tried to explain.

Ellie shook her head and began to cry. "Come on baby girl, lets get you upstairs to bed,' Kelly proceeded to carry her up the stairs.

"NO!" She screamed.

"I'll help." Gabby knew her daughter could be very difficult to get to sleep.

"Daddy," Andy walked into the main entrance room, tears in his own eyes, "I want to be bad."

"What?" He turned on his heel and looked at his four year old, "What does that mean?"

"You and Mommy only do things with Ellie."

"Your sister needs a lot of attention."

"She does bad things."

"Andy your sister and you," He tried to find words he'd understand, "You're different, you like playing on your own."

"Daddy you said we'd do things!" He pointed his finger at him.

"Don't you dare point at me," He glared, "And don't tell me what I did."

"But you did. You said we'd still do things and we don't."

"Things have just been busy buddy."

'With Ellie and Jacob."

"Andy sometimes it's going to be like this."

"I don't like it!"

"Well I'm sorry."

"I want to play with you."

"Well you go and clean up that mess you made and we can play together. And maybe if you're good at home and at school for a few weeks well go to a hockey game, just the two of us.

"I can go too if you want," Kelly told him as he walked down the stairs.

"No way Ellie's already asleep."

"Gabby has her lying in bed, she's fighting to keep her eyes open but she's almost out. I didn't think my presence was helping any."

"Probably a good idea," He answered honestly, "Andy, go and finish cleaning I want to talk to your Uncle alone."

"Okay Daddy," Andy left although he didn't want to.

"So you don't think you'll make a great father?" Matt asked again.

"Its different with them!" He justified, "I don't have to worry about screwing everything up! I know they have great parents."

"I didn't have the perfect childhood either!" Mat reminded him, "Until Andy was a year and half I thought I was an awful father, Gabby had to keep reminding me of ways of doing things and even though I'd read all the books and… sometimes I still wonder if I'm doing an okay job."

"Your kids are great Matt," Kelly assured him.

"And so will yours. That little baby is going to be very spoiled and loved. Don't forget now it's my turn to be the fun Uncle."

"Yeah, good luck with that," His friends joke made him feel a little better about the situation. He turned serious quickly though, "Its not just about the bay though, its about my relationship with Brianne and everything else. Should I ask het to marry me? We've only been going out for eight months but she's going to have my baby and I'd like to do the right thing."

"I think the right thing is whatever both of you want."

"I can't just call her up Matt, I mean I started yelling and walked out of my apartment. I just couldn't deal with the news. She's going to hate me."

"She'll understand it was a big shock."

"Yeah but I was acting like it was a horrible thing, when the truth is I love her and I probably would have asked her to marry me in a few months. Now I just don't know what to do."

"Go and talk to her. Tell her what you told me and you should be all right. Trist me I don't have all of the answers to parenthood either. I'm still wondering why Andy's acting out all of a sudden.

"Jealousy," Gabby told her husband as she walked down the stairs carrying Jacob, "Woke up just as I got Ellie to sleep, I fed him and burped him and now he wants o see his Uncle Kelly."

Kelly took the two month old into his arms and held him, "Hey little man."

Jacob stared back him, his littler fingers waving in the air. He blinked his brown eyes twice and sucked on his soother.

"In seven months you're going to have a new friend," He told him, "What do you think of that?"

Jacob continued to suck on his soother and lay contently in his godfather's arms.

"See, you're a natural," Gabby assured him as she reached for her buzzing cell phone, "It's Erin Lindsay, wants to know if Andy can go over for a play date next Saturday."

"He coloured on the walls in the kitchen, he's cleaning them up now," Matt, informed his wife, "He's been acting up all week."

"I think he just feels left out. He's acting jealous."

"Or it could just be bad behaviour," Matt pointed out, "Not sure he should go over and cause trouble somewhere else."

"He's a good kid Matt," Gabby said and she walked into the kitchen to find Andy cleaning up what he had drawn on the walls, "Andy, come here, I want to tall to you."

"I'm sorry Mommy," He stood up and turned around, "I know drawing on walls is bad."

"Yes it is but that's not what this is about. You've been doing lots of thing you know aren't nice. Like teasing your sister and stealing her toys? Not eating dinner and throwing tantrums." He didn't seem to understand what his mother was getting at so she continued, "You're four years old Andrew and you're in school. You're a very good boy and I know you want Mommy an Daddy's attention." He nodded, "But acting up isn't a good way of getting it. Ellie's still learning and you know she's… she'll always be different, but you're different in good ways. Now Mrs. Halstead said Zack and Aaron want to see you. She said you could come for a play date next Saturday. Do you think you should go?"

"Yes!" He wasn't able to self-discipline yet, Gabby knew that.

"Okay Andy you can go but start acting like the big four year old you are."

"Kelly and I are going to take him to see a hockey game," Matt informed her, "I did promise t still spend time with him after Jacob was born."

Andy looked up and smiled, "And not Ellie."

"That's right Ellie and Jacob are to little, they can stay home with Mommy."

"You sure. No Ellie?"

"Yes bud," Matt had to laugh, "I promise you your sister won't go."

"Okay Daddy," He smiled happily.

 **TBC**


	14. Play Dates & Make-up

**Play Dates and Make-Up Parties**

After working a twenty-four hour shift with lots of calls all Matt Casey wanted to do was sleep; as soon as he walked into his house though he knew that was the last thing he'd be getting for a long time. Jacob was crying his little lungs out and Andy was pulling on Ellie's hair.

"Oh Matt," Gabby sighed with relief as she came to the top of the stairs cradling Jacob in her arms, "Can you try and get Ellie dress for me? It's been one of those mornings."

"Yeah sure," Matt nodded and he dropped his duffel bag and walked into the family room, "Andy, stop pulling your sisters hair!"

"Daddy!" He turned and ran to hug his father, "Can you take me to Zack's house? Can you? I'm all ready to go!"

"I see," He ruffled his son's hair, "Mommy wants me to get your sister dre-

"NO-HO!" Ellie shrieked and ran away from her father, "NO-HO!"

"All morning," Andy shook his head, "I want to go."

"Be patient buddy," Matt instructed his son and caught his two year old as she came running back, "This is not funny Elizabeth!" He scolded, "You need to get dressed."

"Mean!" Ellie bite his arm.

"Ellie! No biting!" He grabbed the clothes and diaper Gabby had gotten out for her. With some difficulty he managed to get the clothes on her but as soon as she was on the ground she took them off.

"No!" She looked mischievously up at her father and ran away.

"Oh," Matt shook his head, he was already loosing his patience with the two year old, he had no idea how his wife dealt with it day in and day out. "Elizabeth!" He followed her.

"Daddy, I want to go!" Andy complained.

"In a minute," Matt turned to look at him and walked over to Ellie who was sitting on the kitchen floor and working on getting her diaper off. "Elizabeth, you come here and get dressed!"

"NO!" She yelled and ran away.

"Elizabeth I-" He followed her back into the family room where she was now hiding behind Gabby.

"Mommy!" She looked up at her mother grinning, "Uppie?"

"I don't think so," Gabby frowned and shook her head. Her mother had told her the best thing she could do when Ellie was acting up was to follow through and not to give in, no matter how cute she was. "You're not listening."

"No!" She cried, "No!"

"Get dressed," Gabby pointed to the clothes.

"No!"

"Alright," She nodded knowing Ellie wouldn't like what she was going to say next, "Come on Andy lets get you to Zack's house."

"Ellie go?"

"No, you didn't listen," Gabby made sure to make eye contact with her daughter.

"NO!"

"You stay here with Daddy," Gabby told her and she helped Andy get his coat on and then bundled Jacob up and carried him out to the car.

"Mommy!" Ellie sobbed and she ran to the open, she pounded on the door but to her disappointment her mother didn't come back. She sunk to the floor and began to have a temper tantrum.

Matt watched her with a heavy heart. He knew her behaviour needed to stop and doing what Gabby's parents did for her seemed to be the first logical step. He hated seeing her so upset though, it broke his heart.

"Come here sweetie, let's get you dressed," He tried again, "Look Mommy picked out a nice dress for you."

"Mommy," She sniffled back tears.

"Mommy will be back soon. Mommy will be so happy if you get dressed."

"Up?" She pointed to the stairs.

"Upstairs? You want to go upstairs?" He asked and walked towards her.

"No," She shook her head and pointed to the clothes Gabby had gotten out for her, "Ellie nood."

"You want to choose what you wear?" Matt asked her.

"Yed," She nodded.

"Oh sweetheart," All of this could have been avoided if Gabby had just let her pick her own clothes, there was no way his wife didn't think of that. One step into Ellie's room told him why. There were clothes all over the floor. Obviously she's tried that and it didn't work.

Matt set his daughter on the ground and watched her run to her clothes, "Mine! Mine!" She proudly pointed to all of them, "All Ellie's!"

"Yes, now what do you want to wear?" Matt asked.

"This!" She held up a fancy dress.

"You want to wear that? That's a-"

She began to cry and Matt figured for now at least he could let her wear what she wanted. He knew Gabby would tell him that wasn't following through but he was tired and he knew he'd loose his temper fast if he had to fight her; the way he figured it, at least she was dressed in something.

"Yay!" She cheered happily and let Matt dress her in the dress.

"Okay baby, lets watch a movie in Mommy and Daddy's room," He picked her up and led her across the hall and into the master bedroom. He got the IPad off a high shelf and loaded up one of Ellie's favourite shows.

"Daddy," Ellie kissed his cheek smiling happily as he sat down on the bed and took her and the IPad into his arms. "Love," She kissed him again.

"I love you to baby girl," He yawned and kissed her forehead.

"Daddy sweepy?"

"Yeah baby Daddy's tired."

"Night-night?"

"No, sweetheart you don't have to sleep yet. You be a good girl and watch the movie."

"Daddy sweepy," She crawled out of his lap and pulled the blankets around him and kissed him on the forehead. "Ellie be quiet," She sat down beside him and held the IPad in her arms.

"Thanks sweetie," He attempted to stay awake but it didn't work, he was asleep.

When the movie was halfway over Ellie was board, "Daddy!" She shook him "Daddy!" He didn't wake-up. Just as she was about to jump on him she saw her mother's make-up, "Daddy petty!" She climbed down off the bed and walked over to the vanity and climbed up the chair and then grabbed as much make-up as she could. She carried it all back to the bed and climbed back onto it again. She pushed all the items close to her father's face.

"Daddy so petty," She grinned and began colouring on her father with the make-up. She used different colour lipstick on his entire face and mascara and cover-up to. Her favourite thing was the eye shadow as it made thick lines. "Nails petty," She decided to paint his nails whens she scooted around on the bed and saw her mother standing at the door.

Gabby wasn't sure whether to laugh or be angry. She had told her daughter many times to stay away from her make-up yet a small part of her thought it was hilarious that as punishment for falling asleep Ellie had painted his face with make-up, "Oh sweetie," She tried to hold in a laugh, "What are you doing to Daddy?"

"Daddy petty!" She announced.

"Yes Daddy's very pretty," She told her and took out her phone to snap a few pictures, "Now lets wake Daddy up so he can see."

"DADDY!" Ellie stood and jumped onto his stomach, "DADDY!"

"Wa- Ellie," Matt woke up instantly, "I told you-"

"Hey babe," Gabby interrupted him.

"Gabby I didn't I…" He tried to think of a way to explain to his wife he fell asleep while watching their rambunctious toddler.

"That's alright, look at this," She handed him the mirror from her vanity, "Our daughter is certainly quite an artist.

"Ellie!" Matt looked in the mirror and then at the smiling two year old.

"Daddy petty!" She grinned happily, "Daddy no like?" Her lower lip began to tremble.

"Oh no, no!" He covered-up, "You made me look very pretty, thank-you.

"Daddy petty!" She kissed him happily.

"Alright sweetheart you made Daddy pretty not lets clean this mess up while Daddy takes a shower."

"No," She pouted, "No Daddy!"

"Oh sweetheart," Matt looked at her, "I really like it but…."

"But Daddy's been working he needs a shower," Gabby added, "You don't want Daddy to be stinky."

"No!" She giggled, "Daddy no!"

"Then I can take a shower?"

"Yed," She nodded and began to help Gabby clean-up the mess she made.

 **TBC**


	15. Water Fun

**Water fun**

 **Early July:**

"Kelly! Kelly!" Ellie ran as fast as she could towards the door, "Kelly! Kelly! Kelly!" She jumped up and down, "Mommy!" She sighed impatiently.

"Hold on sweetie," Gabby repositioned Jacob on her hip and went to open the front door.

"Kelly!" Ellie squealed in utter delight as she attached herself to her godfather's legs and grinned happily up at him.

"Kelly? Since when I'm I Kelly?"

"Yederday," She said proudly.

"Yesterday? Geez I don't see you for two weeks and you've grown so much," He shook his head good naturedly and lifted her up into his arms as he and Brianne stepped inside the house,

"Hey," Gabby hugged Brianne, who over the past few months had become a good friend. "How're you feeling?"

"I just want him out," She rubbed her large abdomen, she was almost eight months and was in a lot of pain. "I'm keep Kelly up at night because I just can't sleep," She shook her head, "My back hurts like-"

"Ms. Brianne!" Andy came running down the stairs ahead of his father excitedly, "How are you? How's my god-brother" The five year old was bursting with energy.

"I'm alright," Brianne smiled down at him, "You all ready for a fun day at the water park."

"Yep," He smiled happily, "And I'm teaching Jacob to crawl."

"Me too!" Ellie added as she looked at her brother and frowned. "I yetter."

"Are not!" He argued back.

"Hey, hey knock it off or we won't go," Matt told his children sternly.

"Are you all ready?" Kelly asked Ellie, "You have everything packed and you ate breakfast?"

"Uh-huh," She nodded and snuggled happily into him.

"Yes she's been very good this morning," Gabby commented, "Lets hope it stays that way little miss," She tapped her daughter's nose, "Remember you're almost three years old. You're a big girl now."

"Rite," She nodded, "Big ike Mommy!"

"That's right," Kelly sat her on the ground much to her discontent, "Now go and get your backpack and you can ride with Brianne and me."

"Yay!" She cheered happily.

"You say hi to Ms. Brianne first though," He added. The young girl still didn't like Brianne and it was becoming less cute by the day. At times she was outright mean, not talking to her and shutting her out and all parties involved were worried it was a warning sign for her pre-teen and teenage years.

Ellie didn't look pleased by the idea but looking at her parents only led Matt to comment, "Ellie, Brianne's an adult and you have to respect her. We've talked about this before. You're nice to everyone remember?"

She looked to the ground and then back up, "Annie," She looked up at the woman and smiled a little, "Hi."

"Hi sweetie," She bent down as much as she could, "How about you and I go together and Uncle Kelly can go with Mommy and Daddy? It would give us time to talk."

"I think that's a great idea!" Kelly stepped in catching on to what his fiancé was trying to do."

"Yeah," Gabby agreed, "Now go and get your things Ellie."

"Oday," She disappeared and then returned with her small backpack, "Look!" She lifted up her t-shirt to reveal her brand new bathing suit she was wearing to the splash pad.

"Ooh, very cute," Brianne grinned and offered the girl her hand, "You all ready?"

"Yeah."

"You be good for Brianne," Gabby put Jacob on the ground and lifted her daughter up, "We'll see you there." The splash pad was only a fifteen to twenty minute car ride away but Gabby knew Ellie didn't know time yet.

"Oday," She nodded, to her credit she had been better the past few months. She was listening and for the most part her attitude had gone away; she was still stubborn though and when she wanted something there was no stopping her.

Matt walked out with them and transferred Ellie's car seat from Gabby's mini van to Kelly's car. "You be good baby girl," He kissed her forehead as he buckled her in.

"Not a baby," She informed her father frowning, "Big wike Mommy."

"Right," He softy chuckled and kissed her hair, "I'm sorry."

"Alright," Brianne got into the driver's seat, "Thanks Matt," She smiled to her friend.

"Anytime," He shut the door and stepped back as Brianne drove off.

"Now," Brianne looked in the rear-view mirror briefly, "You know when the babies born Uncle Kelly and I are going to need help."

"Help?" Ellie's eyes widened with excitement, "I good helper!"

"I've been told that," She smiled, "I know you help a lot with Jacob."

"Uh-uh," She nodded enthusiastically.

"Do you think you'd be able to help us out? I'm going to need it."

"Mommy too?"

"Yeah your Mommy or Daddy can bring you."

"Yes," She nodded and smiled, "I help!"

"Good, you know you're going to be a great friend to our baby."

"Love baby,"

"Yes and he loves you too. You know I love you right?"

"Love you Anna," She smiled.

* * *

"I'm glad she's better to you now," Gabby said sincerely to Brianne. They'd been at the splash pad for about twenty minutes but it was the first time they'd really had a chance to talk. You know he's going to make a great father," She grinned and watched as Kelly played in the sprinklers with the kids.

"Yeah he will be," Brianne rubbed her abdomen smiling as she felt her son move around.

"So…" Gabby saw her husband bring back Jacob to the bench, "How'd he like it?" It was the babies first time in water outside of a bath and they were nervous to see how he'd react, "By the smile on his face I'd say he loved it.'

"Yeah," He smiled, "He seemed to love it."

"Ah?" Jacob pouted and watched his older brother and sister have fun.

"You want to go back?" Matt asked.

"Ahha!" He babbled happily.

"Alright then," He grinned and kissed Gabby on the lips quickly before taking his youngest back to the splash pad.

"Andy!" Ellie splashed a little water on her brother and giggled.

"Hey!" He laughed and splashed her back causing her to laugh and run away.

"Hey!" Kelly called after them, "No running!"

Andy heard him and stopped but he slid on the wet surface of the splash pad and knocked Ellie to the ground. The two year old fell and scrapped her elbow on the surface.

"Mommy!" She sobbed, "Mommy!"

"It's okay Ellie," Andy sat down beside his sister and tried to comfort her, "Lets go see Mommy."

"Mommy," She sniffled and let Andy help her up, "See Mommy."

"Yeah," Kelly lifted her up, "I'll take you."

"Wait," She rubbed her eyes, "Kissy," She leaned forward wanting to kiss her brother.

"Okay," Kelly brought her back down and let her kiss Andy on the cheek. "Andy you want to come?"

"I'll go and play with Daddy!" The five year old decided and went off in the direction of his father and younger brother.

"Hey little man," Matt grinned as he saw him, "Ellie going to see Mommy?"

"She hurt her elbow," He explained maturely.

"Ah, Mommy will make that all better."

"Yeah," He nodded, "Can we go in the pool?" He wondered as he looked at the community pool on the same property.

"In a few minutes if you want," He agreed.

"Why not now?" He asked, "Please Daddy?"

"Because I want to spend some time with your younger brother so your mother can take a break," He explained to him, "Now I'm talking to you like a adult. Can you wait for a few minutes?"

"I like being older," Andy told him, "I think I can wait," He said more to himself then his father.

"Good," Matt nodded and continued watching his youngest as Jacob splashed his hands in the shallow water.

"Daddy!" Ellie called as Kelly carried her over, "Uncle Kelly's taking me swimming!"

"Yeah I told her I'd take her over to the pool," Kelly told his best friend having no idea Andy had just been told to wait.

"Dad!" Andy stomped his foot and crossed his arms, a huff of air coming out of his mouth, "That's not fair!"

"Andrew," Matt scolded, "That's enough."

Kelly gave his friend a questioning look silently asking him why Andy was suddenly acting out, "Andy wanted to go swimming to but I told him he needed to wait," Matt explained, "But he knows he doesn't get what to want by having a tempter tantrum. Maybe you can just not go swimming."

"Daddy!" Andy shook his head frantically, "No, I want to!"

"Well you can wait now and think about what you could have said to Uncle Kelly."

"I don't like this," Andy declared.

"Too bad."

Anger rushing through him Andy watched miserably as Kelly proceeded to carry Ellie off to the swimming pool without him. "Daddy," He looked up at his father, "That's not fair."

"Uncle Kelly didn't know you wanted to go too Andy," Matt explained to his son, "You could have asked to go but instead you chose to have a tempter tantrum. You don't get what you want that way. Just like Ellie never get what she wants when she has a tempter tantrum and neither will Jacob when he's older."

"Fine," He knew his father was right. He'd seen his younger sister have plenty of tempter tantrums and he never saw her get what she wanted because of it. She could cry and carry on all she wanted but it never worked.

"Now lets go and take Jacob back to Mommy and then we can go swimming," Matt picked up his nine-month-old son and placed him on his hip as he led his five year old over to where his wife and best friend's fiancée were sitting.

"Mommy," Andy spoke first, "Daddy's going to take me to the pool."

"Well that sounds like fun," Gabby grinned, "Think maybe I could go to. Maybe we can play in the water together.

"What about Jacob?"

"I have a little floty for your brother," Gabby told him, "I think he'd like it."

"Okay," Andy agreed happily, he loved it when both of his parents played with him, "Ellie went with Uncle Kelly."

"Yeah but I think maybe Ellie should play with us." Matt spoke up, "Give Uncle Kelly and Ms. Brianne some time alone."

"Oh no I don't want het to get upset," Brianne spoke up. She knew the two year old always got upset when Kelly had to leave or she was told to give him a break. The girl simply adored him, no questions about it.

"No, she has to learn to share him especially with the baby due soon," Gabby told her."

"Okay if you say so," Brianne sighed.

"Don't worry," Gabby squeezed her shoulder gently, "I won't make you the bad guy." She knew sometimes she and Matt accidently made it seem like Brianne wanted to spend time with Kelly and that might have fuelled Ellie's dislike for the woman.

"Thank you."

"Lets go!" Andy took both his parents by the hands and began walking towards the pool, Matt opened the gate and the group found the table and lounge chairs Kelly and Ellie had their stuff at. Andy got off his shirt and went rushing to get in when Matt stopped him.

"You're forgetting your life vest," He pulled out the item in question from his son's backpack.

"Dad!" The five year old groaned, "No!"

"You don't say no to me!" He looed at him sternly, "This isn't a discussion Andrew. You put it on or you can just forget about swimming."

"But I'm a good swimmer," He complained as he did what he was told.

"Yes but you're not good enough yet," He told him, "I'm sure by next summer you won't need one."

"I hope so," He did up the buckles and then looked at his father, "Can we go now?"

"Yeah bud," He ruffled his son's hair and they climbed into the pool.

"Daddy! Andy!" Ellie splashed happily as she saw them, she to was wearing a life vest but wasn't nearly as strong at swimming as her older brother, "Come play!"

"Come play with us sweetie," Matt reached out for her, "I miss you," He faked pouted casing her to giggle, "Do you want to play with me?"

"Daddy," She nodded happily and sat on his hip as he carried her around in the water.

The group stayed at the pool for another hour with Kelly and Brianne being the first ones to leave since Brianne was getting tired and needed to lie down. The Casey family lasted another half an hour before getting lunch at the snack bar. After eating they made there way home and then with a sleeping Jacob and a nearly sleeping Ellie into the house.

"Go and play quietly," Gabby instructed her oldest.

"Okay Mommy," Andy took off his sandals and walked into the family room leaving hi parents to put his younger siblings down for a nap.

 **Four Hours Later:**

"Bed time," Ellie kissed her favourite doll on the forehead and placed her in the play crib and put the blanket over her. "No crying," She frowned and looked at the doll as if it were crying, "Bed time, you sleepy," She repeated.

Smiling Gabby walked up to her husband who was sitting on the ground watching the kids play, "Wish she'd take her own advice," She knelt down and lowered her voice.

"Yeah," He replied back, "Need any help with the pasta salad?"

"No, just boiling some water for a pasta salad. You're already cooking the burgers on the grill.

"I'm going to help Mommy," Andy told his mother as he momently looked up from his toy workbench, "I can help right Daddy?"

"Yeah sure Bud," Matt nodded, "You just have to listen to me, you know that right, the barbeque is a dangerous thing and it's not a toy."

"I know Daddy. It's not a toy," He repeated, "When are we starting."

"Soon, just let me change your brother's diaper and then we can get started," Matt reached out to take his son into his arms but the nine month old got onto his hands and knees and began to crawl away.

"He's crawling," Gabby smiled through her laughter, "I knew it was coming. He's been pushing himself onto his hands and knees for a few weeks now."

"Yeah," Matt nodded, "Soon he'll be walking," He picked up his son who was struggling to get down, "You need to be changed, then you can play."

Jacob started to cry and he wiggled so much in his father's arms Matt had to put him back down on the ground before he fell. Once on the carpet he sat on his bum and scooted to get the toys he wanted.

"He's doing that again," Andy sighed, "Why?"

"Maybe he likes it better," Gabby answered her son' question but as soon as Jacob got into toy he wanted he set off again on his hands and knees; still shaky he fell a few times but kept going.

"Ewe!" Ellie plugged her nose, "He's poopie!" She pointed at her brother.

"Yeah I know," Matt once again lifted his son up, "Don't squirm," He held securely onto him as he carried him towards the staircase.

"Ellie lets go potty," She reached out her hand for her daughter to take; Ellie was still in diapers but Gaby could see she was ready for potty training; knowing it wouldn't be easy she wanted to start her was early as possible.

"No," She shook her head, "No potty."

"I need to go!" Jacob dropped his toys and ran towards the downstairs washroom.

"Okay Ellie," Gabby knew it wasn't worth the fight yet, "How about tomorrow we go and get you some big girl pull-ups and maybe even a potty seat."

"No diaper?" She asked.

"No, you're a big girl now and big girls use the potty and wear underwear."

"Oh," She said, "Oday," She nodded and then went back to playing with her baby doll.

 **TBC**


	16. Ellie's 3rd Birthday

**Ellie turns three**

"My bridday! MY BIRDAY!" Ellie ran into her parent's bedroom and climbed up onto the bed using the covers to help. She stood in the middle and started jumping, "UP! MOMMY! DADDY!" She yelled.

"Ellie," Gabby sighed, "It's to- Wait a minute!" She was suddenly awake checking to make sure her husband was still asleep she checked her daughter for any bruises, "Who let you out of your crib?"

"Ellie did!" She grinned proudly.

"Ellie," She was well aware that her daughter could climb out of her crib. She'd been doing it for a few weeks now.

"I told you sweetie that's dangerous," She stressed the words to her, "We'll get you a big girl bed this weekend alright."

"No me good," She grinned, "Good Mommy."

"I know you're good at climbing out of your crib sweetie," She took her on her lap, "Lets go potty and then get ready for your party."

"No potty," Ellie shook her head frowning. Potty training her was proving to be quite a challenge but Gabby had expected that. When she wanted to go on the potty she did but when she didn't want to it was very hard to get her to."

"Yes potty Ellie. You're a big girl now and big girls use the big girl potty and sleep in big girl beds."

She put a finger to her lips and mimicked perfectly the look Gabby often gave Matt "Mommy!"

Staring at her daughter Gabby had to chuckle, "Oh sweetie." She kissed the side of her heads, "Mommy will go potty first and then you can alright."

"Mommy go!" Ellie clapped her hands, "Daddy too!" She declared and crawled up right to her father's ear, "DADDY!" She yelled.

Matt woke up and turned to see his daughter grinning, "Hi Daddy!"

"Hi Ellie," He rubbed the sleep put of his eyes.

"Sweetheart," Gabby looked at her, "Daddy's bee working a lot this week. He's tired can we let him sleeping in?"

"Mommy! Daddy!" Andy knocked on the door, "I'm hungry!"

Gabby sighed and watched as her husband got out of bed, "Come in buddy!" He called to his son, who walked into the room still in his pyjama,

"Come on Ellie," Gabby picked up her daughter, "Lets go potty."

"Potty," Andy giggled, "That's funny.'

"Andy," Matt gently warned him. "Don't use those words."

"Ellie does," He sulked.

"Ellie's younger then you are. You know better, she's just learning."

"Whatever."

"You don't say that!" Matt pointed sternly at him.

"Sorry Sir," Andy looked down at the floor. He knew when his father pointed hi finger at him he was in serious trouble.

"Matt," Gabby gently touched her husband's shoulder. She thought that he was getting to be to hard on Andy.

"No, no he knows it's not appropriate," Matt defended his actions.

Andy turned and left the room; the sound of him going back into his room was the only sound for a few seconds.

"Matt go easy on him; you've been really tough on him since he got out of school."

"He's been acting up Gabby. You know I don't like that."

"Neither do I but sometimes you just have to let things go."

"Mommy! Daddy!" Ellie snapped her parents out of their adult conversation, "Hungry!"

"Alright princess," Matt lifted her into his arms, "Come here."

"Cakies?" She asked, using her word for pancakes, "Mommy make?"

"Oh," He looked at her trying to be serious, "You don't think I can cook?"

"What can I say she's a smart girl," Gabby chuckled at her husband's expense.

"Ha-ha," Matt laughed and playfully glared at her, "Come on," He carried Ellie out of the room and downstairs to get her ready for breakfast. Meanwhile Gabby got Jacob ready for the day and managed to convince Andy to come downstairs for breakfast.

* * *

At ten thirty Antonio, Laura and Eva and Diego came to the door and rang the doorbell. "Mommy!" Ellie cried, as she stood naked in the washroom with the door closed, she had an accident and Gabby was changing her.

"You can see whoever it is in a minute sweetie," She promised, "Now finish going pee pee and poo poo alright."

"No!" She sobbed, "Mommy no!"

Gabby sighed and shoo her head. Potty training Andy had been easier he had been so motivated and determined to do it, it' taken two months. She knew it'd be harder for Ellie but I was proving to be almost impossible.

"Come on sweetie," She stood her daughter up and helped her wipe herself as she had gone pee a little. She then helped her get changed into her new clothes and opened the door to the washroom following behind her as she went running towards the front door.

"Uncle Atonio Auntie Laura! Eva! Diego!" She yelled with excitement. She was so overwhelmed she didn't know who to go to first.

"Hey kiddo!" Antonio stepped forward and lifted his niece into his arms, "I can't believe you're three years old today. You're such a big girl."

"I am," She smiled proudly, "Look." She pulled down her pants to show off her pink underwear.

"Ellie!" Gabby exclaimed horrified, "Sweetie you don't show people your underwear that's private."

"Why?" She looked around for an explanation.

"It just is sweetie. You're older now and there are something's you can't do anymore."

She sulked but let Antonio hand her over to Laura who held her, "Oh sweetie," She ran her fingers through her hair, "You look so much like your mother when I first met her."

"Oh yeah I was just around Ellie's age," Gabby remembered fondly.

"Uh-huh," She nodded.

"Eva! Eva!" Ellie reached for her older cousin who she simply adored.

"Hey sweetie," The eighteen year old took her into her arms and held onto her, "Do you want to play house?"

"Uh-huh," She nodded happily, "Kien?"

"Sure we can play kitchen," She nodded and carried her into the family room where the children's toys were.

"Diego can you play with me?" Andy asked hopefully

"Later bud," Diego promised as he ruffled the boy's hair, "I want to spend some time with your sister."

"Not fair!" Andy exclaimed as he kicked the ground and turned to go upstairs.

Diego looked to his aunt and uncle, "Should I go up and talk to him?"

"No, no he needs to learn," Matt told him, "Today's Ellie's birthday. He can't always have things his way."

"Alright," Diego shrugged his shoulders and began walked towards the family room.

"Matt!" Gabby slapped him, "I already told you stop being so hard on Andy. He's only a little boy. He's a good kid."

"He almost threw his bike at Ellie yesterday!" Matt exclaimed, "How is that okay?"

"Gee, I wonder where he gets his tempter from!" Gabby ran her fingers through her hair and glared at him, "I'm going to go," She turned and left.

"Way to go bro," Antonio shook his head somewhere between annoyed and laughter, "What did you do to her?"

"I don't know," He shook his head.

"I'll go and talk to her," Laura walked towards the kitchen, "What's up?" She asked.

Gabriela turned from where she was at the oven checking on the birthday cake, "Has it ever bothered you how Antonio treats Eva and Diego differently."

"Yeah," She nodded, "When Eva started dating he freaked out and just so happened to be cleaning his gun when a boy came to the door. With Diego he's fine with it as long as he's sure he treats the girl with respect and is polite when he meets her parents. He always makes him go up to the door to get his dates."

"Matt treats Andy so harshly sometimes, he has such high expectations of him and Eva could do anything and he'd still love her. I get it they're two years apart but Andy's still only five and I know it hurts him when Matt always wants him to be more polite or when he does something wrong. Ellie needs to learn she can't get what she wants all the time."

"I've seen him to pretty hard on her."

"Yeah for a bit but when she looks at him and pouts he melts. He says its because she looks like me but she needs to know limits."

"And she's learning them."

"I guess," She shrugged, "I really feel bad for Andy right now; he's so board recently and I know that's why he's been acting up. He needs to get outside more and do things."

"I think you need to talk to Matt about this."

"I have," She sighed, "But I'll talk to him again."

"Good," Laura smiled and reached out to take Jacob, "Come to Auntie Laura," She grinned as Gabby handed him over and he grinned up at her and began playing with her hair, "I miss my kids being this young," She reminisced. "I always did want three kids."

"Gabriela," Esmeralda walked into the kitchen, "What are you to doing in here?" She walked to her daughter and hugged her.

"Hi Mom!" Gabby hugged her and smiled, "You shouldn't be standing. Come and sit down."

"Oh I'm fine, stop fussing," She pushed her daughter's hand away.

Gabriela knew she wasn't, her mother was getting older and she had recently become very sick. Some days she could barely move, and unfortunately those days were getting more and more frequent.

"Hi Esmeralda," Laura hugged her mother in-law, "Let me help you walk into the family room, I'll kick Antonio out of whatever seat he's sitting in."

"Your husband is currently trying to convince Andrew to come join the party," She explained.

"Ugh!" Gabriela groaned, "Excuse me," She left and rushed up stairs, "Antonio Dawson!" She hissed angrily as she crossed her arms at her brother who was standing outside Andy's bedroom door.

Antonio turned around; He knew that look, "Gabby I know you want him to come down on his own but I-"

"I want you to go back downstairs."

"Fine," He backed down and did as he was told.

"Thank you," Gabby followed him.

Ellie was playing house with Diego and Eva but when her mother and uncle came back into the room she pouted, "Where Andy?"

"Andy's feeling a little sad right now sweetie," Gabby explained.

"I hep him beder?"

"No, no sweetie he's just resting right now. Maybe you can help him later."

"Oday Mommy," She went back to playing.

Twenty minutes later the doorbell rang and Ellie ran as fast as she could to the door, she knew who that was "Uncle Kelly! UNCLE KELLY!" She jumped up and down.

"Alright," Gabby opened the door and laughed as Ellie went flying towards her godfather.

"Hey kiddo," Kelly easily lifted her up and kissed her forehead, "Happy Birthday! I can't believe you're three years old."

She grinned happily and kissed him before leaning over and touching Brianne's large belly, "Hi Baby. Baby likes me!" She could feel the baby move around. "I ready help!" She announced to Brianne.

"Yes she's been practicing holding a baby doll and changing diapers," Gabby informed her friends, "She's very excited for new god brother to be born."

"Baby Kelly!" She grinned happily."

"The baby's going to have his own name sweetie," Kelly told the young girl.

"No baby Kelly?" She pouted.

"No, no hold on," Brianne spoke up, "That's a possibility sweetie."

"Yay!"

The family all gathered in the family room and talked while Ellie talked and played with most of them. When lunch was ready they moved outside and Matt was able to get Andy out of his room, he however didn't eat much and said he didn't want any cake.

Everyone sang 'Happy Birthday' to Ellie and she blew out the candles but just as Matt was cutting the cake she stopped him, "Andy's?" She asked.

"I'll bring one up to Andy," He assured her.

"No!" She shook her head, "Me! Andy big piece!" She informed her father.

"I'll go with you sweetie," Matt didn't think she could carry the piece of cake on her own.

"No Daddy!" She insisted, "Me go!"

"Let her go Matt," Gabby was happy to see Ellie initiate this action; she'd never done anything like that before.

"Alright," Matt handed her the plate with the cake and fork on it and watched as she walked into the house.

"I'll go but stay hidden," Gabby took Jacob and followed minutes after and stayed at a distance. She smiled as Ellie put the plate on a step in front of her and then use the rails to take the step only to repeat the action until she got to the top. Once she did she carried it t her brother's room and knocked.

"Andy! Cake!"

"Go away!" Came the five-year-old response.

"No! Andy!" Ellie stood up on her tip-toes and opened the door stepping into the room she lowered her lip to see her brother crying, "Andy sad? Hug?"

"I told you to go!"

Ellie didn't listen and instead she put the cake down and went to hug her brother, "Love you. Why you sad?"

"It's your birthday."

She pulled his hand over to the cake, "You eat? Open preents."

"You want me to help you?" He asked.

"Yes!" She confirmed and he took his piece of cake and held her hand as they made their way back downstairs.

 **TBC**


	17. Bad News & Sleepless Nights

**A\N:** This one-shot is a little sadder then the other previous ones. It deals with a very real issue so hopefully I went about it in the right way.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, NBC or Global

 **Spoilers:** None

 **Warnings:** None

* * *

 **Bad News and Sleepless Nights**

"MOMMY!" Ellie screamed as loud as she could, tears falling quickly from her eyes, "MOMMY!"

"Ellie!" Gabby came rushing into her daughter's bedroom thinking something terrible had happened.

"Mommy, I nared," She cried, "Crib." She pouted.

"Oh sweetie there's nothing to be afraid of in your new bed," She flicked on the light, "You have your bear and your night light. What's wrong?"

"No bed."

"But you're a big girl now. Big girls sleep in big girl beds." Using the 'big girl' line seemed to work on Ellie accept when it came to potty training or sleeping in a bed, then her stubbornness came through.

"No," She began to cry again, "Mommy stay?"

"Oh no sweetheart you just get some rest," She knew that if she stayed now it would become a habit and she didn't want that.

"Nory?" She reached for her favourite book, one with Spanish fairy tales in it.

"Okay I'll finish reading the story," She picked up the book and found out where they left off. She began reading and within twenty minutes Ellie had fallen back asleep. "Good night sweetheart," Gabby kissed her on the forehead and left the room leaving the door open just a little.

She then checked on Jacob and Andy before heading off towards the master bedroom to call Matt before she got ready for bed herself. She was about to hit the 'call' button on her phone when she heard Ellie scream and then a loud thump.

"Ellie!" Gabby ran into the room and saw what she had feared all along, she'd fallen out of the bed and was laying on the carpet in tears. "Come here baby," She sat down on the ground and put her daughter into her lap.

Gabby knew on a quick examination that her daughter wasn't badly injured, just a few soft bruises and a visibly scared Ellie.

"Sweetheart, how did you fall?" She wondered, there were toddler rails where her pillow was and stopped at about the length of her arm.

"You left!" She sobbed. "Mommy stay!"

"Oh sweetheart," She rocked her back and fourth, "I know its scary sleeping in this new bed but you're safe. Why are you so scared?"

Ellie didn't answer she just kept crying.

"You're so tired sweetie," Gabby lifted her up and tucked her back into bed, "Just get some sleep. If you wake up in the middle of the night and are scared you come and get me."

"Daddy be home?"

"Daddy will be home in the morning when you wake-up. Remember he's at work saving people."

"Daddy be okay?"

Gabby didn't like it when her kids asked her that question; she knew she couldn't answer I honestly but she never wanted them to worry, "You know Daddy can't make any promises; he loves you so much."

"Miss Daddy Mommy," She yawned as she snuggled her teddy bear close to her.

"I know you do baby girl," She kissed her again and watched her fall asleep. She stood in the room for about a half an hour and Ellie didn't wake-up again. She then went into her room and called Matt.

"Hey babe," He picked up after the second ring.

"Hey," She greeted, "How're you doing? Any calls yet?"

"No not yet; been a pretty slow night. How was your night?"

"Ellie's having a hard time sleeping in her new bed. I don't know what she's afraid of but she keeps waking up. I really hope she's not having night terrors."

"Night terrors?"

"They're nightmares young kids can have. I had then when I was Ellie's age until I was five. They wake up screaming and crying but they don't remember anything after a few seconds or minutes."

"Is it serious?"

"No, no just scary for us, but they don't remember anything. We'll have to keep a close eye on things and see if they continue or not. Once she gets used to her bed they might stop, sometimes they can be brought on by a change and going from a crib to a bed is defiantly a change."

"Right. Have I ever told you how smart you are?"

She blushed, "Yeah but I like it."

"So are you getting undressed?" He asked shutting the door to his office for some privacy.

"Maybe," She slowly began to take off her clothes and change into one of Matt's t-shirts she'd claimed as her own.

"Are you going to where my old fire academy t-shirt?"

"I am wearing it. With nothing else on," She informed him.

"Gabby," He moaned out, "You're making me need a cold shower."

"Good."

"You want me to have a cold shower?"

"Only if I take a shower with you."

"Reminds me of how Andy was conceived."

"Now that was fun," She blushed and giggled at the memory, "Sneaking off into the showers during shift."

"Yeah," He agreed, "Very fun."

"You have to go," She recognized all to well the call bells going off in the distance, "Be safe and remember I love you."

"Yeah, I love you too."

* * *

Gabby slowly walked up to the steps of her parent's house. Her mother had called her a few days ago and asked if she could come over for lunch, said she needed to tell her and Antonio something. She knew it was going to be something bad, the reason why she'd been feeling so off lately. Whatever it was she knew it couldn't be good. Nervously she knocked on the door.

"Ah, Gabriela," Jose' opened the door and let his daughter into he house, "Your mother and brother are in the living room."

"Dad," She took off her shoes and put them in the hall closet, "What's wrong?"

"That's something your mother needs to tell you," He led her into the living room.

"Right," She responded nervously as she joined Antonio on the couch, he was looking just as worried as she was if not more worried.

"Alright," Esmeralda took a deep breath, "I guess you want to know why… I should just tell you… I have Alzheimer's."

"Alzheimer's," Antonio was the first one to speak, "Didn't Abuelo die of that?"

"Yes." Esmeralda told him, "That's right."

"That- there's no cure for that," Gabby gulped, "You'll just get worse right I mean…."

Antonio took her into his arms and let her cry on his shoulder, "There are medications. I mean it can be prolonged."

"Yes, but they have side effects its something I need to think about. I'm seeing a specialist in two weeks."

"I want to go with you," Gabby looked at her. "I need to go with you."

Esmeralda nodded, she hated seeing her children so upset. Gabriela was crying but she knew her son was crying on the inside, he hardly ever showed emotion, always thought he needed to be strong for people.

"I feel like I'm going to be sick," Antonio shook his head, "Ma please tell me you just found out."

"I found out last week but I didn't want to ruin Ellie's birthday party."

"Ellie," Gabby just remembered her kids, "What I'm I going to tell them? And Matt."

"You don't have to tell the kids if you don't want to, that's up to you Gabby. I will be getting worse over the next few year though and Andy will notice a difference."

"I just can't believe this," She shook her head, "None of it seems real. I don't want to think of life without you."

"I know sweetheart," She tried her best to soothe her, "But luckily we have a long time to go before we have to think about that. For now we're thinking a nice family vacation would be nice.'

"Yeah," Antonio tries to smile, "That sounds good."

"I should go," Gabby suddenly stood, "I'm not hungry anymore," She got up and left the room and then her parents house all together. She couldn't think straight she was halfway to her car when her mother came out.

"Gabriela, I don't want you driving when you're like this. Call Matt and he can come and get you."

"No…. No…" She began sobbing, "How could you tell us over lunch mom? I knew it was bad but… I just I don't know what I expected."

"Just call Matt and I'm sure you can figure out something," She pulled her into a hug.

"Uh-huh," She took out her cell phone and dialled her husband's cell phone number.

"Hey Gabby," Matt picked up on the third ring, "So was it as bad as you thought?" He knew how much his wife was worried about going to lunch at her parents.

"My Mom's dying Matt."

"What?" He looked at the kids who were playing just a room away and again lowered her voice, "Dying?" He all but whispered

"She has Alzheimer's disease. Matt there's no cure!"

"Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can. I'll just get someone to watch the kids."

"I don't want them to know."

"No, no of course not," He assured her, "You're not alone right? Your parents are there and Antonio's still there."

"Yeah. I guess I'm alright but just…" She couldn't finish.

"I know I love you."

"I love you too," She waited until he hung up before doing the same.

Half an hour later Kelly dropped Matt off at his in-law's house in his car. He walked up to the house and knocked on the door Gabby opened it and immediately fell into his arms, her face red and swollen from crying.

"Ssh, baby," He soothed her as best as he could, "You want to head home or stay here?"

"I…. I…." She tried to say more but couldn't.

"Hi Matt," Jose came to the door.

"Hi," Matt responded, "I'm so sorry," Was all he could think of to say.

"Thanks, she's upstairs sleeping but you're more then welcome to stay, Antonio went home to talk to Laura and the kids, he said he might come back tomorrow maybe."

"That's alright, I'll let you two have some time alone, to process things. Call if you need anything," He led Gabby towards her car.

"You too," He said and shut the door after him.

"Give me the keys sweetie," Matt gently encouraged his wife, "I don't want you driving."

"Uh-huh," She nodded and handed over the keys before slumping into the passenger seat, "I can't believe this is happening!"

"I know sweetie but it'll be alright."

"How? My Mom's dying Matt! There's no cure for this! Only treatments that prolong it!"

"I don't know what else to say," He admitted.

"Don't say anything just leave me alone."

"Alright," He nodded and started to drive back to their house. The kids were spending the rest of the day and night with Kelly and Brianne so they had some time to themselves.

"I'm just going to so lay down," Gabby slowly took off her shoes and made her way up the stairs and towards the master bedroom. Once she got there she just collapsed on the bed, to weak to do anything else. She didn't even notice Matt follow her into the room.

"Oh sweetie," He lied don on the bed next to her and wrapped her in his arms, there foreheads touching, "Just rest."

"I don't even know what I'm going to do without her… and the kids," She shook her head and began sobbing.

"We'll figure it out. We have time," He did his best to soothe her but nothing seemed to be working, which bothered him because he wanted to make all of the pain go away.

"How I'm I suppose to get through all of this?"

"I don't know but I know that I'll be there for you every step of the way and so will the kids. I can tell you that."

"I don't want to tell the kids yet, they'll so young and I don't think they'll understand yet. Maybe, maybe when she's worse."

"Whatever you want.'

"Stay with me?"

"Always," He placed a gentle kiss to her forehead and rubbed her back in soothing circles.

* * *

"Mommy?" Andy walked to his mother, a concerned look on his face, "Are you sad?" He asked. It was Saturday afternoon and Gabby and Matt had picked the kids up around an hour and a half ago.

She turned her attention away from her youngest onto her oldest, "No, no I'm fine just a little tired. I'll watch you ride your bike." She changed the subject.

"Yeah Uncle Kelly said I could ride a two-wheeler soon!" He announced excitedly.

"He said maybe next summer," Matt reminded him, "Now how about you come here and we can practice some hockey shots. Like your mother said she's pretty tired."

"But why?" Andy wondered.

"Why Mommy?" Ellie also wanted to know why her mother was sad.

"Hey, hey who's going to play hockey with me?" Matt changed the subject, knowing Gabby didn't want to tell the kids yet.

"I will," Andy turned and went to where his father was setting up the nets.

"Mommy be better?" Ellie stopped her chalk drawings and went to sit in her mother's lap.

"Hopefully sweetie," Gabby kissed her and held her in her arms.

 **TBC**


	18. The Zoo & a Baseball Game

**The Zoo and a Baseball Game**

"NO! NO! MOMMY! MOMMY! DADDY!" Ellie woke up in a panic and started screaming as tears ran down her cheeks.

"It's alright sweetheart!" Matt turned on the light and rushed towards her bed, "I'm here. Daddy's here."

"Daddy," She snuggled into him as she continued to cry. This lasted another few minutes before she fell asleep again. Matt stayed for almost ten minutes before leaving.

Ellie's night terrors had been going on now for almost three weeks and her paediatrician said there wasn't much they could do. Eventually after she got used to sleeping in her bed they'd go away. Both Gabby and Matt hoped that would be soon.

It was the last week in September and they were getting Andy ready for Senior Kindergarten. Ellie was enrolled in a local pre-school program that ran Mondays, Wednesday's and Fridays for three hours in the morning and Jacob was crawling and getting into everything.

To say Matt and Gabby were busy would be an understatement but despite his wife pretending to be okay Matt knew she wasn't. She was incredibly close to her mother and she was having a hard time accepting that her mother was dying. She read up about Alzheimer's online and knew what would happen.

"Ellie get back to sleep alright?" Gabby met her husband at the top of the stairs.

"Yeah," He confirmed, "Buying another set of baby monitors was a good idea," He told her. "We might not have heard her right away if we didn't have them.

"Sometimes I have good ideas," She winked as she checked on Andy and then Jacob, glad to see they were both sleeping soundly.

"I never said you didn't Babe," He told her as they walked into the master bedroom Gabby setting Ellie's baby monitor beside Jacob's permanent one. For Jacob they had one that had video feed and one-way audio. One was in their bedroom, and another was in the kitchen and each of them had an app that remotely connected or in on their phones. It was the same system they'd used for both Ellie and Andy when they were little as well.

When Ellie's night terrors had become an ongoing thing they'd bought a pair of walkie-talkie style baby monitors one for Ellie's bedroom and one for them to keep. I had one-way audio, they could hear her but she couldn't' here them.

"So I was thinking tomorrow I could take Ellie to the zoo. You know she loved it the last time to went."

Crawling into bed Gabby looked at her husband, "You don't have to? You're already taking Andy to the baseball game on Saturday."

"Yeah I know but I want to spend some time with Ellie too."

She knew what he was trying to do; she didn't like it, "I'm fine Matt. I'll admit I wasn't for the first few days but is been two weeks. I'm fine. I've come to terms with the fact my mother dying.

"Gabby I don't think that's something you ever learn to deal with. I'm still not over my father's death and that was a long time ago."

"Yeah well I'm fine." She glared at him. "Just…. Just…" She shook her head and then began to cry, "See, now look you've made me cry."

"Come here," He held her and gently rocked her back and fourth in his arms, "It's alright to be upset."

"No," She shook her head; "I have to be strong for the kids and for my Dad."

"No you don't."

"I can't break don in front of the kids Matt!" She exclaimed.

"I think we should tell them," He began slowly, "I know they might not understand but I think it'll make you less stressed out."

"What and have Ellie have more night terrors? No! They're just too little. Way to young Matt."

"Okay, it's your call. I am going to take Ellie out tomorrow though. So you'll just have the boys."

"Matt you-"

"I can take Jacob and even Andy to if you want."

"No. It's fine just take Ellie." She looked at him and let out a little breath

"What's wrong?"

She didn't respond, she just simply kissed him on the lips before reaching for the lamp and turning it off, "Goodnight Babe," She snuggled into him and went back to sleep.

"Good night Babe," He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her arm up and down until she fell asleep. Once she was asleep and almost peaceful looking he allowed himself to go to sleep as well.

* * *

"Daddy!" Ellie looked over her shoulder and frowned. She'd run ahead of him as he finished getting organized "I'm here!" He began taping her foot impatiently.

"Ellie," He pushed the empty stroller towards her and looked at her. "You need to wait sweetie. Daddy doesn't like you running off like that. Why don't' you sit in the stroller.

She put her finger to her chin and pretend to think, "No!"

"Ellie," He wasn't comfortable with her walking when it was so crowded, she hated holding onto hands and when she got excited she was known to run. "I'm sorry but you have to sit in the stroller or we go home. It's very busy. Do you want to get lost?"

"No!" She instantly shook her head.

"Then come sit in the stroller. You can hold the map and tell me where to go alright."

"Yay!" She grinned and let Matt put her in the stroller and buckle her in. He made sure she had her water cup and that her hat was securely on before handing her the map of the zoo. "Monkeys!" She pointed to the picture of the monkeys on the map, "Funny Daddy!"

"Alright sweetie, the monkey's it is." He pushed the stroller to the where the monkeys' were. On the way there were plenty of other things to see and do.

At the monkey habitat Ellie giggled at everything they did and especially liked it when they licked their bums. "Funny Daddy!" She giggled, "Silly."

"Yes that's very silly," He agreed, "You know sometimes you act silly like a monkey."

"Daddy too!" She responded.

"Yeah I know Mommy thinks so," He commented, "How about we go see the birds next?"

"Okay," She took a long drink of her water and watched everything go by. It didn't take them long to get to where the birds were. "Daddy! Birdie!" She pointed to where a trainer was holding onto a bird and showing everyone.

"I see, do you want go see the bird?"

"Yes pleeed."

"Good manners," He praised and pushed the stroller over to where the trainer was. The trainer was explaining how parrots can repeat things they here and even gave a demonstration.

"What's the birds name?" A child asked.

"Her names Kelly," The trainer responded.

"No!" Ellie yelled, "Kelly boy name!"

The trainer turned to her, "It can be a boys name too."

"No! You're wrong!" Ellie pointed at her and glared shaking her head angrily.

"Elizabeth!" Matt schooled. His face red from embarrassment he looked at the trainer, "I'm so sorry."

"Daddy!" Ellie began to cry, "I right!"

He pushed the stroller out of the area and into a rather private spot with benches. He sat down and lifted Ellie out of the stroller, "Ellie. The trainer was right. Kelly is a boys name and a girl's name. "He explained, "It's not very nice to tell adults they're wrong alright. I don't want to see you do that again."

"Daddy!" She shook her head and continued to cry. Matt realized she was probably getting hungry so he brought her to a pizza place. After she was finished eating she quickly fell asleep in the stroller.

* * *

"MOMMY!" Ellie ran ahead of Matt into the house proudly carrying her new toy monkey, "Look, look!" She showed Andy who frowned and was about to say something when Matt cut in.

"Andy I'm taking you to a baseball game tomorrow. You can get the jersey you want alright."

"Okay Daddy," He smiled and then said, "Jacob can come too."

Matt had thought about bringing Jacob but thought Andy might want to spend some time with him, "Are you sure? He can stay here with Mommy and Ellie."

"No Daddy," Andy shook his head, "Jacob likes baseball."

"He does?" Matt tilted his head, "When did you find this out?"

"He tried to say ball. Mommy said he did today."

"Really?" Matt smiled at the fact that his youngest was trying to put sounds together, "Where's Mommy by the way?"

"Right here," Gabby emerged with Jacob on her hip, "This ones outgrowing his clothes again so I went to make sure the bigger sizes were easy to get too."

"Mommy!" Ellie ran towards her, "Look! Look!"

"Oh I see baby," She grinned as she handed Jacob to Matt, the infant reaching for his father, "Did you have fun at the zoo?"

"Yes!" She grinned.

"Good. Now go and play alright," She watched her go off and play with Andy.

"She informed a trainer that Kelly was a boys name not a girls name," Matt lowered his voice, "She told the trainer she was wrong?"

"She did what?"

"She talked back to the trainer," Matt told her, "That's a first."

"Oh," Gabby shook her head, "That's the last thing we need right now. Her mouthing off."

"It's alright sweetheart," Matt rubbed her arm, "We'll handle it."

"We'll have too," She kissed his cheek, "I'm going to go get dinner started."

"No, no. I'll make dinner, you relax; Go and play with the kids."

"Matt," She looked at him, "I told you I don't want special treatment."

"Gabby," He stared at her, "Stop it. I know you're hurting okay? Please don't shut me out, let me help you."

"I can't deal with this right now," She left and went to go and play with the kids.

Matt sighed and shook his head. He'd have to keep a close eye on her and keep advising her to see someone.

* * *

"Daddy can I have some?" Andy watched his father take a drink of beer, "Please?"

"Sorry bud," He chuckled, "When you're a little older maybe. You have your pop and burger."

"I know," He nodded, "And peanuts." He held up the bag, "Why can't Jacob have any?"

"Your brothers a little young to eat them. He has snacks from home."

Andy nodded and kept eating as they watched the game. He had his baseball glove nearby in case he caught a ball.

"Ba! Ba!" Jacob repeated as he bounced up and down on Matt's lap.

"Yeah look at the ball," Matt pointed to the game, "Do you think your brother will catch one?"

"Ba!" He repeated.

"Daddy!" Andy pointed to where the ball was coming towards their section and everyone was reaching to grab it. A player had hit a home run and so it was even more exciting.

"I didn't catch it," Andy frowned miserably. An older boy one row down had caught it.

"That's alright buddy," Matt said, "Don't be upset."

"Hey," The boy, a little older then fourteen turned in his seat and smiled at Andy, "Do you want the ball buddy?"

Andy gasped, "Yes please!"

"Oh no," Matt shook his head, "You caught it. You should keep it. He has to learn he can't always get what he wants."

"No, no," The boy urged, "I come to games all the time with my Dad; I don't mind really."

"Please Daddy?" Andy asked, "Please?"

"Okay," Matt relented, "Say thank you."

"Thank you, thank you!" Andy took the ball and grinned happily, "Thank you so much!"

"You're very welcome," The teenager turned back in his seat and continued watching the game.

"This ball is special; Daddy I'm going to put it in the backpack," Andy said and carefully placed the ball into the backpack under hi father's seat.

 **TBC**


	19. Baby Kelly

**Baby Severide**

"Baby! Baby! Baby!" Ellie chanted happily as she skipped ahead of her parents.

Brianne had gone into labour the previous day and had given birth to her and Kelly's son near midnight. Now past four o'clock Gabby and Matt were bringing the kids so they could all see the new baby.

"Baby?" Eleven-month-old Jacob recognized the word and looked up at his father.

"Yeah bud, Auntie Brianne had a baby.

"Baby," He repeated again.

"Alright," Gabby looked at Andy and Ellie as they made it to Brianne's hospital room, "No running or yelling. The babies probably sleeping and we don't want to wake him up. Plus Auntie Brianne is very tired."

"Mommy!" Ellie whined impatiently.

"Alright," Gabby opened the door and walked in carrying Ellie.

"Ooh baby," She smiled and looked at the tiny baby in Brianne's arms, "Mommy down? Pleae?

"All right but be gentle," Gabby set her on the ground.

"Hi baby!" Ellie cheered happily and walked up to the bed and climbed up, she peered into the blanket, "Hi baby!"

The newborn's eyes fluttered open and he began to cry loudly.

"Elizabeth," Kelly picked her up and placed her on the ground, "You need to be gentle."

"Mean!" She frowned and looked up at him, "Mean!"

"Elizabeth," He looked at her sternly, "You need to listen. Now you've made the baby cry."

Ellie gasped and tears came down her cheeks and she ran out of the open door.

"Great," Gabby sprinted after her, "Ellie!" She saw her daughter near the nurse's station; luckily a nurse scooped her up.

"Thank you," Gabby approached them, "Ellie you know better then to run away."

"Mean Kelly!" She screamed and bite the nurses arm in an effort to get out of her grip.

"Elizabeth!" Gabby said in horror, fully aware multiple people were now looking at her, "You don't bite." She took her and looked at her sternly, "I'm so sorry," She looked at the nurse.

"No, no," The nurse waved it off, "I've dealt with worse kids then her. She seems very…."

"Feisty is a nice word," Gabby chuckled relived the nurse wasn't angry, "Ellie you apologize right now. You know better. You're in pre-school."

"I orry," She looked up at the nurse, "Really," She added.

"Well thank you," She looked at her, "Now you listen to your Mommy okay."

"Oday." She said as the nurse turned and walked away.

"Alright Ellie." Gabby took her hand and led her to a quite corner, "Lets talk."

"Kelly mean, Very mean," She told her mother, "He yelled.'

"Oh sweetie, Uncle Kelly was just upset. You woke up his son, I know you didn't mean to but…. Well Uncle Kelly's a new father and he's really stressed out right now."

"Oh," She said, "Need a hug?"

"Yes, I'm sure Uncle Kelly would love a hug."

"He yell again?"

"I don't know sweetie;" She replied honestly, "Just remember to be quiet and go and say you're sorry."

"Oday Mommy," Ellie took Gaby's hand and walked back into Brianne's hospital room, "Uncle Kelly," She walked up to him and looked up, "I'm orry. Mommy says you're worried. You love baby."

Kelly laughed a little and bent down and picked her up, "I guess Mommy's a little right. I'm sorry for yelling at you though," He kissed her cheek, "You know you'll always be my special little girl."

"I know," She grinned and looked over at the baby her mother was now holding, "No crying?"

"No he went back to sleep," Kelly carried her over, "You want to see him?"

"Does he have name?"

"Yeah he does," Brianne spoke up, "I think you're going to like it; his names Kelly James Severide Junior."

Ellie gasped, "Baby Kelly!"

"Yeah sweetie," Kelly kissed her head, "Baby Kelly is right."

"Yay!" She reached out and gently touched the babies face, "He's cute."

Kelly Jr. opened his eyes and reached out his fingers and touched Ellie's hand gently before going back to sleep.

"He likes me."

"Looks like it," Gabby smiled, "See I told you, you're going to be a great god-sister."

"Baby Kelly cute," She repeated again grinning.

"Uh-oh Man," Matt looked at his best friend, "I think my daughter's finally replaced you."

"Ha-ha," Kelly rolled his eyes in response. "Very funny."

 **TBC**


	20. Back to School

**A\N:** There's a time jump here Andy is 8 Ellie is 6 and Jacob is 4.

 **3 Years Later:**

 **Back to School**

Ellie and Andy got out of the car and looked up at their school. They were both nervous and excited to be back for a new school year.

Andy was nervous as he couldn't stop thinking about the girl he'd met only a few days before, he wanted her to be in his class but at the same time was so nervous to see her every day.

Ellie was nervous because she was going into grade one and she was still having a little trouble reading; also even though she had friends a lot of the other girls wouldn't play with her because they said she was to bossy. She tried not to be bossy but it was hard for her.

"Mommy," Jacob tugged on his mother's hand as she lifted him out of the van. He buried his head into her shoulder. He was very nervous about going into Junior Kindergarten he hadn't spent a lot of time away from his mother.

"You'll be fine," She promised, "We came here two days last week remember?" She was talking about the Kindergarten prep days where he'd met his teacher and other students in his class.

"Yeah buddy," Matt told him as he turned down the volume on his radio. He was on shift but taking a few hours off to take the kids to school; something he made sure he did every year on the first day of school.

Jacob pouted; "I want KJ."

"We know bud," Matt took his hand as Gabby placed him on the ground, "But KJ is younger then you; he'll start school next year. You'll still see him on the weekend."

"I won't have friends."

"Yes you will," Ellie smiled, "Alyssa's younger sister; Kaitlin."

"Ewe girls!" Jacob stuck his tongue out and frowned, "No girls."

"Oh cooties aren't real, Ellie rolled her eyes at her younger brother, "You're such a baby."

"Hey, hey enough," Matt frowned, "You used to believe in cooties too," He reminded her, "Now," He locked eyes with her, "You have a good first day; I don't want you to get into any trouble; no notes from your teacher on the first day. You listen and be a good friend," He instructed.

"I'll try."

"Don't try do it; or you and I are going to have a little talk," He warned.

She nodded knowing her father wasn't lying, "Okay Daddy."

"Good; now give me a hug and go out to the playground with your older brother," All of the children in grade one and older played in the playground before schools started every morning and then went in when the bell rang.

"You have a great day son," Matt spoke to his oldest as Gabby was talking to Ellie, "Make sure you check in on your brother if you can."

"I will Dad," He nodded, "Can I go now?" He made sure his hair looked good.

"Ooh Andy wand to see his girlfriend," Ellie mocked.

"Shut up Ellie!" Andy glared at her, "Don't embarrass me or you're dead!"

"Hey!" Matt grabbed his arm, "You do not threaten your sister. Do you understand?"

"Yes Sir," He nodded, not breaking eye contact, he knew he'd be in mote trouble if he did.

"Good. Now Ellie leave your brother alone, go and play with your own friends."

"Luckily they're on different sides of the playground," Gabby said under her breath. The large playground was split into four sections; one completely separate fenced off section for the JK's and SK's; the main playground with a blacktop and grass was split between the grade one's to three's on one side and the grade fours to six one side and the seven and eights on another.

After seeing Andy and Ellie got onto the playground and under supervision from teachers and trained volunteers supervising the playground Gabby and Matt took Jacob to his classroom. He had the same teacher Andy had so Matt and Gabby knew her and she's hard of Jacob.

"I can see a little bit of Andy in him," Mrs. Field's told them, she was an older woman with greying hair, "He'll have a great day; he seems to be making friends," She smiled as Jacob had started playing in the block area with some other boys and girls.

"Yeah," Gabby grinned, "He's pretty good at sharing."

Matt nodded and was about to add something when his radio went off. There was a huge fire nearby and Matt knew firehouse fifty-one would need all hands on deck. "I'm sorry Mrs. Field's I have to go."

"No, no I understand Lieutenant," She nodded, "I understand."

He smiled and turned to look at his son, "Hey Jakey!" He called, "Come give Mommy and Daddy a hug and a kiss! We have to go now!"

Jacob ran over to his parents and gave them a hug and kiss, "Bye!"

"Bye," Gabby lofted him up, "You're going to be fine bud," She kissed his forehead, "Andy's going to pick you up after school and take to the bus. He'll sit with you too alright."

"Okay Mommy," He hugged her, "Bye Daddy!" He leaned over to his father.

"Bye bud," He kissed his head, "You listen to your teachers and be a good boy okay?"

"Okay," He nodded, "I love you."

"I love you too," He hugged him again and set him on the ground and watched as we went back to play.

Gabby and Matt took each other's hands and walked out of the classroom and into the school, "All of our babies are at school," Gabby felt teary-eyed, "I can't believe it. What I'm I going to do all day?" She'd stopped working to look after the kids but now they were all at school she didn't know what she would do.

"Well we could always have another one," Matt looked at her, "We do have that extra bedroom."

"That room? We need it for storage," She looked at him, "But I guess…" She knew how much he wanted to have another baby; and if she was being honest with herself she wouldn't mind it either; sure she liked that the kids were older and they could do more but she missed having a baby plus four children just seemed for even then three.

"Yeah," He grinned as he got into the driver's seat of her van, "Plus you know this car has a lot of seats and with Chief Boden retiring next year we might have more money…."

"I know," Gabby looked at him. Matt and Kelly were both up for that promotion to Chief, which she was afraid, would only cause that old animosity between he two to come back, "I'll think about it alright. We also talked about me getting job at a doctor's office remember."

"Yeah but I like the baby idea better; how about we start practicing and see what happens," He suggested, "I'm sure Antonio and Laura can take the kids for a night. .

"Maybe."

"Alright," He smiled and continued to drive to where the fie was he parked a few blocks away and leaned over to kiss Gabby, "I love you and I'll see you after shift."

"Okay," She nodded and climbed over into the driver's seat to go back home.

* * *

Meanwhile at the children's school Andy was walking into his classroom when he saw Sofia sitting down, she was drawing on a notebook, her long hair shinning against the glass in a nearby window. He froze and hoped she didn't see him.

"Andy!" She grinned happily, "Guess what? We're sitting together." She liked him; liked him a lot. She'd never liked a boy as much as she liked him but she knew, or at least hoped she'd be able to talk to him without making a fool out of herself.

"Great," He walked over to his desk and sat down, he put some things in the desk and looked around the classroom and then at the schedule set up. They had Math first, his favourite subject. He smiled and got out a notebook, "Uh…" He looked at her ignoring the sniggering he was getting from his best friends Cooper and Bradley.

"So I think I like it here," She turned to look at him and smiled, "Yeah," She smiled again and nervously went back to colouring her notebook. She was wrong she couldn't talk to him; her only hope was that their teacher changed the desk set up soon.

* * *

Gabby arrived back home and put down her things only to make her way up to the spare bedroom. It was the smallest of them but it was a decent sized room and could easily be made into a nursery. She flicked on the light and decided to sort through some of the things when her cell phone rang, digging it out of her pocket she looked at the caller ID and then answered it, "Hello?" She prayed it wasn't the worst-case scenario.

"Hello Mrs. Casey this is Dr. Westfield at Hopeville Nursing Home your mother…"

 **TBC**

* * *

 **A\N:** Uh oh :(


	21. Final Words

**A\N:** This chapter includes a character death so it may be hard for some of you to read. If its to hard please feel free to skip it.

* * *

 **Final Words**

"Ye-yes," Gabby felt the tears filling up in her eyes as she cradled her cell phone to her ear despite hand shaking.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this but your mother had a severe stroke and has been sent to the hospital."

Gabby closed her eyes and took a deep breath; she knew her mother's condition had been getting progressively worse over the past year and a half but she was not ready to say goodbye to her yet.

"Thank you," She quickly hung up the phone and raced towards her car. She knew she probably was to distracted to drive but she didn't care, she needed to go and see her mother. She arrived at the hospital in record time and rushed to the E.R. "My mother… Esmeralda Dawson was admitted here, she had a stroke I…." She began to cry.

"Yes," the nurse typed some information into her computer, "I just need to se ID." She requested.

"Here," Gabby quickly got out her driver's licence."

The nurse looked it over and then handed it back, "She's been admitted to the ICU. It's down the hall and to the right."

"Thank you!" Gabby rushed towards the unit but before she could open the doors she saw her brother on the phone running a hand over his face. She turned and saw her sister in-law sitting nearby and slowly made her way over.

"Gabby," She stood up and pulled her into a hug.

"No," Gabby shook her head; she was sobbing now. "NO! NO! Don't tell me-"

"They don't think she'll survive the night," She told her bluntly, "The stroke was pretty damaging to her. She's barely awake now. You're fathers with her. Antonio's calling your family; Matt's not here?" She'd known her mother in-law for years and she loved her but she knew that she didn't have the same emotional connection as her husband and sister in-law; she needed to be strong her them.

"No," Reality suddenly hit her, "He's at work. What about the kids? Who's going to pick them up after school and I-" Gabby leaned forward and threw up?

"Calm down Gabby," Laura placed a hand on her back and moved her away from the area, "You don't need to worry about anything; call Matt alright."

"Yeah," She nodded and got her phone out, easily finding Matt's number. She heard it ring and was having a hard time finding anything to say when Matt answered on the second ring.

"Hey Babe," He greeted happily.

"Ma-Matt," She managed to get out as she lowered herself into a chair, her legs unable to support her weight any longer, "My mother she-" She took a deep breath but couldn't get the words out; everything was sinking in. Her mother could die. She dropped the phone and got up and ran towards the washroom, she was going to be sick.

"Hi Matt," Laura picked up the phone and started talking as she followed Gabby.

"Laura," He sighed with relief, "What's going on?"

"It's not good," She shook her head pushing open the door to the washroom Gabby had entered, "Esmeralda had a serious stroke; she's in the ICU now but the doctor's don't think she'll make it to tomorrow."

"Oh," Matt felt a dew tears run down his cheek, "I'll be there as quick as I can," He promised as he stood up and walked out of his office and towards Chief Boden's office.

"Okay," Laura nodded, "I have Gabby's phone, I'll stay with het until you get here."

"Thanks," He hung up.

"Sweetie," Laura pocked the phone and knocked on the stall door. She didn't know what to say other then that; she couldn't say it was going to be okay. They both knew that wasn't true.

"Yeah I'm fine Laur," Gabby opened the stall door walking on unsteady feet to the sink. She was pale and Laura saw she was almost going to faint.

"No you're not," She linked arms wit her, "And no one expects you to be," She reminded her. "You need to sit down."

"Oh I just have the flu or something," She put her head under the facet and drank a little water, "I've been like this for a few days."

"Alright," She wasn't going to push it. She led her back to the waiting room where Antonio had finished on the phone. Gabby went to him and they hugged for what seemed like forever. Antonio only let go when he saw Matt walk up to them. He nudged her and she turned around and fell right into her husband's arms.

"Ssh Gabby," He soothed rubbing her back, "I'm here. Lets have a seat, your face is pale an our shaking."

"Yeah well my mother's dying," She spat out angrily, "I'm sorry I-" She realized she'd been rude for no reason.

"It's okay sweetie," He kissed her cheek and turned to Laura, "Any news? Can they see her?"

"It's one at a time only," She explained, "I don't want to tell Eduardo to give them a turn; I'm sure he will though."

Matt nodded; he'd always been slightly afraid of his father in-law. He knew Laura was right though he knew his children needed to day goodbye to their mother

"I called a neighbour and asked her to pick up the kids from school and bring them here." Matt told her, "I know this probably isn't a good place for them to be but I know they'd want to say goodbye; Andy especially and Ellie too."

"I think that's a good idea, Eva and Diego are coming too," She explained. "Antonio called them first."

"Good," Matt nodded. He went back to sit beside Gabby and he pulled her into his arms and held her as tightly as he could; they both knew it was going to be a long night.

 **Eight Hours Later:**

"Dad!" Andy ran over to his father as he saw him in the entranceway of the hospital, "What's wrong? Why won't Mrs. McGuire tell us what's wrong?" He looked up at his father; his stance and expression almost demanding an answer.

"Not now Andy," Matt warned his eldest sternly and waited until his younger two approached. Amanda McGuire was carrying Andy; Amanda was in Grade Nine and had been the children's babysitter for a few years. Catherine McGuire was holding onto Ellie's hand the girl crying.

"Daddy!" She rushed to him and he didn't hesitate picking her up and cradling her into his arms.

"Thank you," Matt looked sincerely at Catherine, "Really. I hope they weren't to much trouble despite being worried."

"No, no," She assured him; he had told her what was going on but pure his request she hadn't told his children or her's. Matt wanted to tell his children himself what was going on.

"Mommy?" Jacob lifted his head, his lip quivering, "Mommy?"

"Come here," Matt shifted Ellie in his arms and took Jacob as well "Mommy's waiting for us down the hallway. "We need to have a grown-up talk alright?"

"Somebody died," Andy sputtered out miserably, "Was it Abuela?"

"Andy," Matt warned looking at him, "Not now. Do you want to go home with Mrs. McGuire? Matt and Gabby both knew Andy was smart; he understood more then his siblings why his grandmother hadn't been remembering him over the pas few years or why she was having to be fed by someone else and was in a wheelchair.

"No Sir," He responded.

"Good then behave," He warned. He made sure he saw Andy nod before he looked at Catherine, "Thank you again so much."

'Oh don't mention it." The families said their goodbyes and Matt led his children down the hallway and out to a waiting room just outside of the ICU. He sat down next to Gabby, with Ellie and Jacob still on his lap.

"Mom," Andy started to cry. "Mom say something!" He begged; he'd never seen his mother so pale and it was really starting to worry him.

Gabby looked at her children and tried to open her mouth to speak but she couldn't; "Matt," She looked to her husband.

"Andy, Ellie, Jacob," Matt looked at each child, "Your Abuela is really sick; the doctor's don't think she'll live past tonight. Now Mommy and I talked to her doctors and they said that if you want you can go in and see her with Mommy or I. She's really sick though and she might not talk to you. She has a lot of machines and tubes in her."

"Mommy!" Ellie crawled over to her mother and nestled into her shirt and sobbed, her tears soaking her mother's t-shirt, "Mommy… Mommy Abuela can't die!"

"I'm sorry sweetie," Gabby kissed the top of her head, "There's nothing we can do."

"No! No! No!" She screamed, "I DON'T LIKE THIS!"

"I don't either sweetie," Gabby hugged her tightly, that's all she could do.

"Mom," Andy was trying his best not to cry, like he knew his father was, "Have you seen her?"

"Yeah," Gabby lied; she didn't want her kids to be even more scared; in reality she'd been the only one who hadn't gone in to see her, she'd made it to the door a few times but that's all. She and her mother were so close, she couldn't imagine having to say goodbye to her mother.

"I'll see her," Andy decided, "With you," He added.

"Alright," Gabby nodded her head and shared a look with Matt; She knew she needed to see her mother along first before taking her son in to see her. She couldn't let her eight year old see her that upset.

"Hey you guys," Matt spoke up, "Eva and Diego are upstairs in the cafeteria getting some food. How about we join them.

Andy seemed to know his father's plan was a trap but he went along with it anyways and looked ay his younger brother who was still confused, "Come on Jakey," He offered his hand, "I bet Diego will tell us all about his job patrolling."

"Yay!" Jacob grinned happily and took his older brother's hand.

"Go with Daddy Ellie," Gabby gave her daughter a kiss before handing her over to her husband.

Ellie frowned but Matt took her into his arms before she could say anything; he knew Gabby didn't need to deal with her temper.

Gabby waited until Matt had left with the kids before standing up and walking into the ICU. She walked towards her mother's room and put her hand on the door and stopped. She couldn't do it; she knew she had to but she was so afraid of loosing her. She took another deep breath and then pushed herself into the room.

"Mo-Mom," She walked slowly towards the bed; she had a lot of tubes in her and she looked so frail and small in the bed. "Hi Mom," She knew she couldn't talk, the stoke and her condition making it very hard fir het to do so.

"Ga," Her mother grunted out roughly taking her daughter's hand and squeezing it.

"Oh Mom!" Gabby began to sob and she hugged her mother tightly being careful of all of the wires attached to her. "Mom please don't die," She kissed her wrinkled forehead and sat down in the very uncomfortable chair beside her bed. "I can't loose you," She shook her head rapidly, "Please… please!" She sobbed.

Her mother squeezed her hand again and Gabby took a deep breath and tried to find the words she needed to say, "I think I might be pregnant. I'm not sure yet but I've been sick for a few days and…. If it's a girl I'll name her after you Mom." She promised. "Matt always did want four kids and I think I do too. I just wish you're here to meet the new baby." She placed a hand over her still flat stomach and looked at her mother again, "The kids are here; Andy says he wants to see you but Ellie and Jacob aren't so sure; I think Ellie's really angry and Jacob's to young to really understand everything that's going on." Not knowing what else to say Gabby moved the chair close to her mother's bed and just sat beside her, she didn't move until a knock on the door caused her to stir.

"Ms. Dawson," A nurse entered, "Your husband's outside, wanted me to check on you. See how you were doing?"

"I'm… well what I'm I supposed to be?" She whipped her tears away with the back of her hand.

The use nodded sadly, "I understand. If there's anything I can do you just let me know."

"Did my husband say our oldest son still wants to come in?"

"I'll go and see," The nurse left, she returned a few minutes later with Andy.

"Hi honey," Gabby walked towards him and took his hand, "You still want to do this?"

"I don't know," He took one look at his grandmother and began to sob, "Why is she dying? Why?" He didn't understand, "I love her and she's been so sick. Why can't she get better?"

"I don't know Andy?" Gabby told him honestly, "There are something in life that you just can't get better from."

"But why?" He wanted to know, "Why is someone hurting her? Like someone hurt Leslie and Andy." He said referring to his parents old friends who he and his younger sister were named after.

"Oh no," Gabby clarified, "No one's hurting Abuela; it's a disease that's making her sick, a disease that there's no cure for."

"Oh," Andy said, "But I don't like people dying?" He turned and ran out of the room crying. Gabby went after him and she took him to wait in the waiting room with the rest of the family.

Seven hours later, Ellie on Gabby's lap asleep, Jacob sleeping on Matt and Andy barely keeping his eyes open a doctor came to give them the news. Esmeralda Dawson had died.


	22. Moving on

**Moving On**

"Alright," Gabby looked at her children, there faces red and swollen from crying. The family had just returned from Gabby's mother's funeral and all of them were emotionally and physically exhausted. On top of the funeral there was a gathering that had a lot of people; Gabby's mother had touched a lot of people in the community and so a lot of people wanted to go.

"Andy go and put a movie on alright. You can all stretch out on the couch for awhile and try to get some sleep."

"Come on," Andy led his younger brother and sister into the family room. At eight years old he was a natural-born leader who wanted to be fire fighter when he grew up.

"You should rest to Babe." Matt turned Gabby around so they were face to face, "You've had a rough couple of weeks."

 _You can say that again,_ "You're right I am pretty tired."

"I'll get the kids settled and then come up," He returned the kiss and watched his wife walk up the stairs. Once in the bedroom Gabby got out of her dress and into pair of sweatpants and one of Matt's t-shirts. She went into the bathroom and retrieved the home pregnancy tests she'd bought the previous day; she had gotten three of them and was planning on taking all of them. Even though she knew what they'd all say. She was late, very late.

She took them and placed them on the bathroom counter and then set her phone timer. Clutching the phone tightly she walked out into the bedroom and began pacing. It wasn't as if they hadn't talked about having another baby; they had. She knew Matt had always wanted a large family. To be honest with herself she liked the idea too and they did have the spare bedroom but it would be hard finically for them to buy everything four children needed but she knew they could do it. If worse came to worse she knew Laura would gladly watch the kids for her so she could get a job, she could ever help her out at the store, although she'd feel weird taking money from family.

"Babe," Matt's voice snapped her out of her thoughts just as her timer went off; without even looking at her husband she sprinted into the bathroom and looked at the sticks. Positive, all three were positive. She was pregnant.

"Baby, what's wrong are you-" He followed her into the washroom, "Are those-" He stopped dead, "Are you…. Are we pregnant?" He asked slowly, tears filling up in his eyes.

"Yes!" She turned to face him tears falling down her cheeks.

"Oh baby!" He pulled her into a hug, "That's the best thing I've heard in two weeks!" He kissed her, "Oh I'm so, so, happy."

"I am too," She as still crying, "I told my Mom… right before…" She still couldn't bring herself to say the words, "I told her I was pretty sure I was pregnant; I said if it was a girl I'd name her after her," She sobbed into Matt's dress shirt, wet tears replacing old dried stains from when she'd cried on him at the funeral and from when he had to stop Ellie from running to the casket.

"Then I hope it's a girl," He said using the pad of his thumb to wipe the tears away from her eyes, "You know how much I love you right?"

She nodded, "I miss her so much; I don't want to move on; but…. It's been almost a week and now I know I have to eat and stay healthy," Her hands moved to her abdomen, "But its still so hard."

"I know it is," He soothed, "And I can't say it'll get better but you're so strong and things will start to go back to normal; they have to."

"Mommy!" Ellie dragged her feet into the bedroom, she was rubbing her eyes and clutching a toy, "I'm tired."

"Do you want to have a nap?" Gabby asked her.

"Yes," She nodded, "But maybe…. Maybe can I sleep with you?" She asked hopefully.

Gabby and Matt had a strict rule about the kids sleeping in thee own beds and Ellie knew that but today as an exception. Before today Ellie had never thought she could loose her mother; she knew her father's job was dangerous but she'd always thought her mother would be around forever. Since her Abuela had died she'd been having nightmares about her mother dying as well.

"Of course sweetheart," Gabby nodded and patted the spot next to her on the bed. Ellie smiled and walked over, climbing up and snuggling into her mother. "I love you Ellie," She kissed the side of her head, "Don't ever forget that."

"I love you too Mommy," Ellie sighed contently. She closed her eyes and was asleep within minutes.

"We'll tell the kids in a few weeks," Gabby whispered to Matt, "Wait until out first appointment with the OBJYN. I'll make one tomorrow."

"Okay, good idea," Matt told her leaning down to kiss her on the lips and kiss Ellie's forehead, "If we do have another daughter I hope she looks like you."

Gabby let out a small smile, "Thanks."

He gave her another kiss and then covered her and Ellie up with blankets, "I'll be downstairs with the boys. You two sleep as long as you want to."

"Thanks," Gabby nodded drifting to sleep herself the warmth of the blankets starting to make her go to sleep.

 **TBC**


	23. Telling the Kids

**Telling the Kids**

"Mom, Dad may I please be excused?" Andy asked. He had finished his dinner and wanted to finish his homework before the baseball game started on TV.

"In a minute Andy," Gabby told her son, "First there's something your father and I want to talk to you about."

"What's wrong?" Ellie asked, "Are you dying?"

"No, no sweetie," Gabby assured her, "It's nothing bad," At least she hoped they'd be okay with it. "I'm pregnant. In a few months you guys are going to have a new baby brother or sister."

All three children were silent for what seemed like forever. Ellie was the first one to speak up, "Is it a girl? I want a sister."

"Well we won't know that for a few more months sweetie;" Matt explained, "You probably don't remember much from when Mom was pregnant with Jacob."

"No," Ellie shook her head, "Babies come from inside Mommy's stomach right?"

"Yeah that's right sweetheart," Gabby told her.

"Why? Is the baby hiding?" Jacob wondered.

"Ugh!" Andy groaned, "Can I please go? I get enough of this in health class."

"Yes, yes go," Gabby knew how much he wanted to watch the baseball game, "Go and finish your homework."

"Thank you!" Andy rushed his dishes to the kitchen and ran up to his room. He couldn't concentrate on doing his homework though. He was so angry that his mother was pregnant again. He was in the third grade. All of his friends would make fun of him when they saw her pregnant.

"Hey bud," His father walked into his room, "I can't believe I'm sating this but your homework can wait. Lets talk. "I'm taping the game downstairs and if we're lucky we'll be live before the third inning. Now tell me why you were so angry at your mother."

Andy knew better then to lie to his father, but he didn't have to tell him the entire truth either "I don't know," He shrugged his shoulders. "It's okay I guess. I bet you and Mom are happy."

"Yeah we are but that wasn't my question. You love Ellie and Jacob. You know you're a great older brother."

"I'm not going to say anything," Andy frowned, "Don't you want me to learn how to read? I need to finish these stupid questions for homework."

"Drop the attitude," Matt warned. He swore everyday Jacob started acting more and more like a preteen and less like a child. "Now I don't expect you to tell me everything but the longer this takes the longer it takes us to watch the game. You might not be able to watch it all if it go east your bedtime."

"This is so unfair," He sighed.

"Life's unfair."

"Well I already have way more younger siblings then all of my friends," He began plating with his pencil, "And it's not fair I have to help look after them like all the time."

"I know hanging out with you younger sister and bother isn't cool bud," He could sympathize. Being eight was hard, "And your mother and I do understand that but there's nothing we can do about that."

"See!" He rolled his eyes, "This is why I didn't' say anything before."

"I said drop the attitude! Now explain to me why you're so concerned about what your friends think. Your friends like Luke and Kyle know you have younger siblings. Or maybe it's someone new? He saw a slight blush in his son's cheek, "That girl you met at the park."

"Dad!" He exclaimed horrified. He wasn't going to do this; his father couldn't make him talk about Sofia, even if he did want to know why he felt all tongue tied and got all sweaty when he tried to talk to her.

"You know its perfectly normal to-"

"Dad! He stood, "I know, I know you talked to me about it over the summer!" He messed up his hair with his fingers, "And I do have health class. Can we talk about something else? I can't even talk to her," He let it slip. Now his father was interested.

"You know it took me awhile to talk to your mother too," Matt explained, "I bet Sofia likes you too."

He scoffed, "Sofia won't even look at me. But she is kind of pretty I guess."

"Yeah," He was interested. Andy seemed to really like this girl and Matt was amazed at how quickly he seemed to be growing up. He was well aware he'd be having more talks like this with him over the years to come.

"I guess but she doesn't like me so lets talk about anything else," He pleaded.

"Okay," Matt nodded, "I'll tell you what. Lets finish up these last two questions and then go and watch the game. If it goes into extra innings you can stay up and watch them. Your mother and I were talking about extending your bedtime anyways."

"Oh cool," He grinned and turned back to his novel study book. It took him around fifteen minutes to finish up the questions. When he and his dad walked into the living room Jacob ran up to them.

"Come on!" He tugged Andy's hand, "It's starting!"

"Yeah I know," Andy sighed, "Lets go watch it downstairs kid. Dad said we could.'

"Cool!" Andy tugged his hand.

"Mommy and me and the baby are going to watch movies," Ellie declared, "Romantic movies."

"Gross," Andy called over his shoulder smiling as Jacob attempted to mimic his face.

"Ellie you get the TV set up alright," Gabby told her daughter, "Dad and I need to talk in the kitchen."

"Okay Mommy," Ellie happily searched for a movie she wanted to watch.

"So how'd it go with Andy?" Gabby asked in hushed tones, "Is he really upset about he baby?"

"He's an eight year old boy." Matt looked at her, "I don't think eight year old boys supposed to be that pleasant. He is growing up though let me tell you. I can't say more though just like you won't when Ellie's eight."

"Two more years," Gabby cringed at the thought, "Her toddlers years were bad enough. I'm going to have my hands full with her when she's a pre-teen and teenager. I can only imagine," She shuddered, "You know," She placed a hand over the tiny bump on her abdomen, "I hope it's a girl. So I can honour my mother."

"Me too," Matt bent down to kiss her on the lips, "Now go and watch your romantic movies while I go and watch the baseball game."

"Uh-huh," She gave him one last kiss and walked out of the room.

 **TBC**


	24. Ellie's First Sleepover

**Ellie's First Sleepover**

Andy and Jacob were playing ball hockey in the driveway when Matt pulled his truck up on the street next to the house. The boys stopped playing and ran up to greet their father.

"Hi boys," Matt climbed out of the truck, He'd worked a shift and then gone to a construction job; he was tired, very tired but nothing made him happier then seeing his kids. "Want me to play with you for a bit?"

"Yes!" Both boys shouted eagerly.

"Dad how was your construction job?" Andy inquired, he liked hearing about his father's side-job and also liked helping out when he could, "Do you have any jobs that I could help out with?"

"We'll see bud. How about you go in net and Jacob and I can take shots on you."

"But I need to practice my shots!" Andy complied, "Jacob likes being goalie anyways.'

"Your brothers always goalie," Matt looked at him sternly. He'd often suspected that Andy made Jacob be the goalie, as he hated doing it, "Your brother needs to practice his shots too. "

"Fine," Andy mumbled but went into the net anyways.

"Daddy watch!" Jacob picked up a stick and shot the ball towards the net; a shot that Andy let go in much to his father's pleasure.

"That's great bud! You're all ready for your game next weekend," Matt lifted his son up, "And we have Andy's game too. His rep game."

"Yep," Andy grinned, "Dad you're not working right? You can come? No construction jobs?" Andy loved it when his ad came to his games but understood that he couldn't always make it.

"Nope, I'm all yours," Matt told him, "Is your sister inside?" He asked as he carried Jacob into the house.

"She's crazy Daddy! Mommy told us to come outside!" Jacob warned.

"Oh now your sister's not crazy; she's just excited for her friends coming over," Matt explained, "Now you boys need to behave tonight," He warned, "No pulling pranks, that means you Andrew," He used his sons full name, "You always get Jacob into things he shouldn't be. This is important for your sister."

"Ellie and her friends are so annoying!" Andy rolled his eyed and let out a puff of air, "All they do is giggle and talk about Disney princess and cute boys; she's six years old. She can't like boys yet!"

Matt agreed, he didn't like the thought of Ellie liking boys but he knew that it was Disney prince's besides she'd been in love with Kelly Severide for years, he was used to it. He was though not looking forward to when she started liking boys her own age.

"You better get used to living with girls bud," Matt informed him, "Your sister isn't going to stop having her friends over just because you think they giggle to much. Now I'm going to go inside. You go take Jacob and play in the backyard," He knew that Gabby didn't like the kids paling in the front yard without adult supervision and suspected she'd only let the boys because he'd texted and said he was on his way home.

"Come on kid," Andy led his younger brother away and in the backyard.

Matt watched them go and then walked through the front door of the house, not even seeing Ellie run up to him, "Hi Daddy!"

"My princess," He grinned and lifted her up, "You're all excited for your sleepover tonight. Is Mommy helping you get all ready?"

"Uh-huh but I'm making Mommy takes breaks. She needs rest because of my little sister."

"That's right," Matt chuckled as he kissed her forehead, "You're a very good doctor. You helped your Mommy out a lot when she was pregnant with Jacob."

"That's what she said. Daddy we're making pizza and sleeping downstairs. And Andy and Jacob need to stay away!"

"They're going to behave don't worry," Matt set her on the ground watching her run off again.

"She's been like that all day," Gabby said as Matt rounded the corner into the family room, "But she's been good too. I can't blame her for being excited. How are the boys doing outside? They were doing nothing but bugging Ellie all morning."

"I sent them to the backyard," Matt told her as he kissed her on the lips and placed a hand on her abdomen, "How're you feeling?"

"Alright, tired but you must be exhausted. Go and sleep for a bit, we'll both need to be at out best tonight when Dakota and Avery come."

"Yeah," Matt gave her another kiss and walked up the stairs.

* * *

"They're here! They're here! They're here!" Ellie yelled running towards the front door excitedly, she peered through the blinds and waved to her best friend Dakota, the girl smiling and waving back.

"Alright Ellie," Gabby walked towards her and opened the front door, "Katie, Dakota," She greeted Ellie's friend and her mother, "Welcome, come on in," She stepped aside smiling as both girls happily hugged each other.

"Oh Dakota's been so excited for this. She has her sleeping bag and pillow and some toys and she also brought some child friendly nail polish, I hope that's okay."

"Of course," Gabby told her, "Ellie loves having her nails done. She's such a girllie girl. Now I wanted to assure you that this house has been nut free for two days and I disinfected everything down. We're going to make some pizzas and I triple checked all of then ingredients on everything. Do you have her epi-pen?"

"Here," Katie handed it over, "Her allergy is so severe I was never sure I'd trust anyone with her overnight other ten family. I'm so glad she met Ellie though knowing you're a trained paramedic and your husband's a fire fighter makes me feel better about everything."

"I can understand that," Gabby sympathized, "I can't imagine how scary it must be; you can call anytime you want though and I can assure you this will be on me at all times," She put the fanny pack around her waist.

"Thank you," She nodded gratefully, "Bye Dakota! I'm going now!" She called into the house to where her daughter and Ellie had disappeared.

"Bye Mommy!" Dakota came running back to her, "I love you!"

"I love you too sweetheart," Katie kissed her and gave her a hug; she turned to leave just as Avery and her father were waling up the steps to the house.

"Ellie! Kota!" She screamed, "Bye Daddy!" She called as she ran into the house and hugged her best friends.

"Hey!" Her father, Neal pouted playfully "What about my hug?"

"Bye Daddy," Avery ran back and hugged him and together she Ellie and Dakota ran to go and play.

"Now," Neal looked at Gabby, "My wife was concerned she'd get homesick near bedtime. Do you have out numbers if you need to call us?"

"Yep," Gabby nodded just as Andy came dragging is feet, "Mom!" He groaned, "Tell Elllie I was watching TV first!"

"Andy, you don't interrupt that's not nice," Gabby schooled, "Now I'll be here in a second. You just wait."

"I hate sisters!" He complained miserably.

"Sorry bud," Gabby ruffled his hair.

"I'm going upstairs," Andy said and climbed the stairs to go up to his bedroom.

Gabby got the girls settled in the basement and let them play for abut before they got started with making the pizza's for dinner. They made two pizza's one for the kids that had peperoni and green peppers on it and one for Gabby and Matt that had peperoni and a bunch of vegetables on it.

Since it as a special occasion Gabby let the girls eat in the basement while she put a movie on.

"My Mommy's having a baby!" Ellie said aloud as she saw a tiny baby on the screen, "It's going to be a girl."

"Now we don't know that yet," Gabby told her as she leaned forward or fix her daughter's hair, "Finish up your pizza's and then I can paint your nails."

"Yay!" The girls all cheered happily and continued eating.

Gabby let the girls pick what colour they wanted there nails to be and not surprisingly they all picked a sparkly pink colour. She painted their nails and told them to let the dry and to wait until the movie was over to start playing with their dolls.

After some playtime and then baking some cookies and watching another movie it was time for the girls to go to bed; Gabby dimed the lights in the room and told the girls she'd just be upstairs but she'd check on them later. They were all so turned though that she suspected they'd be asleep before long.

"Oh what a night!" Gabby walked into the kitchen where Matt was still cleaning up from the baking. "Thanks for doing that. Cooking with three girls is not an easy thing to do."

"No I can imagine, the cookies turned out great though," Matt snuck another one from the container and walked over to her and handed it over, "You must be exhausted, go upstairs and rest. I'll check on them in awhile."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, the boys are still watching their movie anyways. I'm going to watch some of it with them."

"Thank you," Gabby gave Matt a kiss and stood to go upstairs and rest.

 **TBC**


	25. Weekend Alone

**Weekend Alone**

"Pizza's here!" Matt walked into the house carrying the large box of pizza. He kicked off his boots and hung up his coat and smiled as he saw Gabby still trying to stand up. She was nine months pregnant and their daughter was due in one week.

"Well don't just stand there!" She glared at him, "This is your fault the least you can do is hep me up!"

"I'll serve you," He sat the box on the coffee table and went to retrieve plates from the kitchen, "What do you want to drink?" He called over his shoulder to her.

"Ginger ale," She responded as she managed to lean over and open to box of pizza and stuffing a slice into her mouth.

It was Friday night and Antonio and Laura had taken the kids for the weekend. Gabby and Matt had been so busy with preparing for the baby and going to hockey games, figure skating lessons, birthday parties not to mention all of the other tings they needed to do that they had hardly had any time to themselves.

"Here you go," Matt walked back into the room carrying the plates and her ginger ale along with a beet for himself. He took the cap off the beer and sat down beside her putting a hand on her abdomen, "Hey baby girl," He cooed gently, "It's Daddy," He smiled as he could feel his unborn daughter doing flips and kicking his hand.

"Matt," Gabby groaned in pain, "She's so active, kicking everything please don't encourage her. I waned to make us a nice dinner but she was causing me to much pain."

He looked at her, "You're in pain? Labour pain?"

"No, no," She assured him, she thought it was adorable how worried he got, even after having three children, "Just nine month pregnancy pain; nothing to worry about yet. I am sorry though that I didn't get to cook anything for us.'

"That's okay Babe," He leaned up and kissed her lips, "I'm just glad I get to send time with you. What do you want to watch? TV? Movie?"

"Movie sounds good, something romantic," She snuggled into him as she looked through Netflix for something to watch. While she was picking a movie Matt got a blanket and covered them up with it.

When the movie was over Gabby was asleep on Matt's chest. He didn't want to disturb her but he knew sleeping on a couch like this wasn't good for her back. "Baby," He whispered in her ear, "Baby, wake up," He placed kisses underneath her ear.

"Uhm," Gabby groaned as her eyelids fluttered open.

"Come on lets get you and Ella to bed," He helped her sit up and he stood up himself and then help her stand. He supported her as he led her up the stairs and to the master bedroom.

The next morning Gabby woke up to find Matt not sleeping beside her. His side of the bed was still warm however and she managed to get herself up and walked out of the bedroom. She had a hunch she knew where he'd be ands he was right. He was in the nursery; he was simply standing in the doorway looking at everything.

"Soon babe," She wrapped her arms around him her large belly pressing into his lower back. "Ella will be here soon."

"I can't wait," He turned carefully in her arms, "Have I told you thank you," He caressed her face, "You've given me everything I've ever dreamed of and more. Four beautiful children and a beautiful wife."

"Matt," She held in a blush, "You're an amazing father and I couldn't think of a better one for my children," She kissed his lips carefully only to pull away as tears fell out of her eyes.

"Gabby what is it?" Matt asked worried she was experiencing contractions.

"I just…. I know my mother would have loved to meet her granddaughter." It had been less then a year since her mother had died and Gabby and the rest of her family were still grieving, her father was still not the same and Gabby was worried he may never recover.

"Yes she would have," Matt kissed her gently on the lips. They'd decided to name their daughter Esmeralda Grace, 'Ella' for short after her grandmother.

"I love our kids but I think four is enough," Gabby said as she stopped crying, "We'll need a bigger house otherwise."

"Four children will keep us pretty busy," Matt agreed, "But I got a new job so I don't think it'll be a problem," He'd found out at the end of the last shift and he'd been waiting for the prefect time to tell her.

"You got the chief's job?" She exclaimed happily pulling him don and kissing him on the lips, "Babe that's great! I'm so proud of you!"

"Uhm," He held her reaching her hands underneath her shirt touching her abdomen, "Severide got offered a Captain's job at Arson and he's taking it. I start in four months when Boden officially retires."

"Oh if I wasn't already pregnant…" She trailed of as she leaned up and kissed him on the lips again, "I love you."

"I love you too," She kissed her on the lips, "Now how about I make two of my favourite girls something to eat? What do you want? Eggs? Pancakes?"

"Waffles sound good."

"Waffles it is," He took her hand and walked with her down the stairs.

The rest of the weekend consisted of Gabby and Matt relaxing mostly with Matt doing just a little bit of cleaning. He was in fact cooking dinner when the kids came running into the house late Sunday afternoon.

"Mom! Dad!" Andy shouted excitedly running to them and giving them a hug, "Diego came to my game and he brought some of his friends. I scored two goals!"

"Way to go bud!" Matt gave him a high-five, "Now go and finish up your homework before dinner."

"I did everything on Friday and Saturday," The eight year old proclaimed, "Can I have a snack I'm starving!"

"How'd they manage that?" Matt looked at his wife shaking his head as Ellie walked into the room followed by her younger brother and aunt and uncle.

"Good!" Ellie sighed with relief, "Ella wasn't born yet!" She hugged her mother first ad then hugged her father, "I'm going to go and play!" She turned quickly around again.

"Homework first!" Matt called after her.

"I finished it Daddy," Ellie poked her head around the corner before skipping off to find her toys in the family room.

"How' you manage to get them to do their homework on Friday night?" Matt exclaimed.

"Same way Gabby got Eva and Diego to," Antonio chuckled and when Matt was still a bit confused he said, "They want to impress us and when we mentioned Eva and Diego might come over to play if they finished their homework thy were more then happy to comply."

"Don; you remember," Gabby looked at her husband as she lifted Jacob carefully onto her knee, "I used to get Eva and Diego to finish their homework by saying you were coming over."

"Oh right," The memories came flooding in, "Hey bud," Matt looked at his four year old, "Mommy can't hold you for long you know that. Go play all right. Dinner should be ready soon."

"I'm still hungry!" Andy walked into he kitchen throwing out his apple core and looking in the fridge yet again, "When's dinner going to be ready dad?"

"In about an hour," Matt laughed, "So you can wait. Geez did your Aunt and Uncle not feed you or something?"

"Are you kidding?" Antonio laughed, "He eats more then Diego ever did!"

"We know," Gabby, replied, "He eats like Matt does." She laughed at her husband's expense.

"Ha-ha," Matt rolled his eyes, "Andy you want to do something go and take your brother and shovel out the driveway after out aunt and uncle leave."

"Uh, but Dad its going to snow later again," He whined.

'Don't argue jut do it."

"Yes sir," He took Jacob's hand and led him to go get their boots and jackets back on.

"Well then I guess we should go," Laura spike up. "You remember to call us to come and look after the kids when the bay comes it doesn't matter what time of night it is."

"Will do and thanks." Gabby slowly got up to give them hugs calling for the kids to come say goodbye.

 **TBC**


	26. Baby Ella

**A\N:** I'm taking fan fiction license with this as I know its pretty unbelievable.

 **Baby Ella**

At first Gabby wasn't sure why she'd woken up; she didn't need to go to the bathroom and she wasn't in that much pain at first, "Matt!" turned to face her husband and gently hitting his chest, "Matt! Wake up!"

"Gabby," Matt rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He didn't need to ask her any questions, "I'll call Antonio and Laura," He reached for his cell phone.

"Can you help me up first?" Gabby asked as she went into a sitting position and cringes from the pain.

"Of course," Matt jumped out of bed and jogged to her side and helped her up, "Did you want me to help you get changed?"

"No," She shook her head, "Right now I don't care how I look. I just want her out," She rubbed her lower back. She was four days overdue and she'd been in a lot of discomfort and pain over the past few days.

"Right," He went back to calling his brother and sister in-law and as the phone rang he grabbed the hospital bag and searched around for something quikly to change into.

"Matt?" Antonio answered on the second ring, "Is it Gabby?"

"Yeah," Matt nodded.

"We'll be there as quick as we can," He said and then hung up.

"Alright," Matt tossed the phone onto the floor before quickly changing into a pait of jeans and shirt. He turned to look at his wife who was leaning over herself in pain, "Gabby!" Matt walked over to her, "Gabby…"

"Matt…" Gabby reached for his hand, "Matt….we….need…. to….go….." She breathed through contractions.

"We can go as soon as Antonio and Laura get here," Matt rubbed her back, "Here lets go downstairs and wait."

"Matt!" She screamed, "She's coming now!" Gabby was horrified, she'd never had a labour go this fast before. "Matt help me sit down!"

"Right!" Matt nodded and helped her back to the bed, "Gabby…."

"Just…." She breathed out, "Just get some towels and sterilize some scissors and call 911."

"911," Matt caressed her face as sweat came pouring down, "Gabby I've delivered babies before."

"GOOD!" She screamed out, "BECAUSE I NEED TO START PUSHING!" She yelled out as she experienced the worst contraction she'd had yet. She placed her hands on her knees and pushed as hard as she could; she panted at the end of it.

"Mom," Andy knocked on the door, "Dad is Mom okay? I'm not worried," The eight-year-old felt the need to clarify, as if it was babyish to be so worried about his parents, "But Ellie and Jake are."

"You're worried!" Ellie yelled frowning.

"Alright that's enough," Matt opened the door quickly and then closed it again, not wanting the kids to see anything. He realized though that they needed to know what was going on and quite possibly would need to help out, "Your Mom's having your baby sister," He looked at them, "And we don't have time to go to the hospital so she's going to have her here. Andrew go and call 911 and then go outside and ait for your Uncle Antonio and Aunt Laura. Actually give them a call now and tell them that your mother is getting ready to push. Can you do all that without making it a big deal?" He looked at his oldest; he needed to know that he could count on him.

"Yes Sir!" Andrew knew this was serious, "Come on kid," He took Jacob's hand and pulled him to the stairs, "You can help me."

"Ellie you can go and get some towels for me alright," Matt looked at the six year old, "And can you be careful with scissors?"

"I can Daddy! But can I be with Mommy? She's in a lot of pain. Please Daddy?"

Matt wasn't sure he warned his six year old daughter in that room. He didn't know if he believed in exposing children to that. But Ellie had wanted to be a doctor all her life and she was a strong girl, "Fine. But only until Auntie Laura gets here."

"Thank you!" Ellie raced into the room, "Mommy take my hand!" She grabbed Gabby's hand, "Mommy do you need anything?"

"Ellie-" Gabby looked at her husband. She's yelled at him later, "Get me a cold cloth!"

"I'll go!" Ellie jumped up and ran into the ensuite washroom and got two cold cloths, She came back to the bed and climbed on and put one cloth on her mother's forehead, "Is Ella coming soon?" She asked.

"Yeah," Gabby nodded as she closed her eyed and pushed through another contraction, "MATT!" She yelled as loud as she could. She could feel the head and she knew the baby would be coming out soon. "MATT!"

"Yeah," Matt ran back into the room after getting the scissors.

"SHE'S COMING NOW!" She cringed, as she couldn't fight the urge to push.

"NOW?" Matt was momentarily shocked before getting into gear, "Alright," He carefully slid down her sleep shorts and saw what she meant, their daughters head was going in and out, "I can see the head," Matt said as he laid down towels underneath her, "Alright, when you're ready push!"

"I want to see," Ellie crawled to the end of the bed, "Aw Ella's head," She reached out to touch it but Matt pushed her hand away.

"Ellie!" He looked at her sternly, "This is serous!"

"Let her touch it Matt," Gabby told him, "I want to too."

"Alright," Matt did as she asked and released Ellie's hand allowing her to reach out and ouch her baby sister's head.

"Ooh!" Ellie touched it, "It's all slimy!" She pulled her hand back just as Gabby let out another push and even more of the baby came into view. "I helped Mommy!" Ellie smiled proudly.

"Ellie! Be quiet please!" Gabby breathed out in pain as she reached down herself and felt the baby, "Is her shoulder stuck Matt?" She asked, she thought she could feel something causing the baby to be in distress but she wasn't sure.

"A little," Matt gently touched his daughter and put her back in and moved her, Gabby let out another scream of pain. "Just one more push Gabby!" Matt encouraged her, "She's not stuck anymore! You can do it Baby!"

"Yeah Mommy!" Ellie crawled back up to where she was laying and took her awry hand, "Come on Mommy!" She encouraged.

Gabby closed her eyes and barred down preparing herself for another contraction as it came she pushed with everything eh had until she felt the release.

"Oh," Matt breathed out as he gathered up their daughter into his arms. He cleaned her up as best as he could and wrapped her in a blanket and handed her over to Gabby.

"Hi baby," Gabby kissed her forehead, "Ellie do you want to help take my shirt off?"

"Why?" Ellie didn't want to take her eyes off of her new baby sister. She loved her already.

"Because the baby needs skim-to-skin contact," She attempted to explain.

"Gabby!" Laura rushed into the room, "The roads are-" She saw the baby, "Oh Gabby "she's gorgeous," She lowered her voice not wanting to startle her newborn niece "THE EMT's should be here in around fifteen to twenty minutes," She walked into the room.

"Auntie Laura Ella needs skin-to-skin contact with Mommy," Ellie explained proudly, "We need to help her take off her shirt."

"I know," Laura helped Gabby sit up as Ellie took off her shirt; Gabby laid back down and placed Ella on her bare chest.

Ella opened her eyes and looked up at her mother, she reached out and touched her breast and clawed away at it as she kicked her feet.

"She's hungry!" Ellie proclaimed happily, "Mommy she's hungry!"

"I think you're right Ellie," Gabby caressed her newborn daughter's head, "Are you hungry sweetie?" She cooed.

Ella touched Gabby's nipple with her tiny fingers.

"I think that's a yes," Gabby helped adjust her position, it took a few minutes but eventually Ella began to suck on Gabby's nipple.

"Oh she's beautiful Gabby," Matt kissed her on the lips as he watched his daughter eat, "She's so beautiful."

"Come on Ellie, let's go and tell the boys your new baby sister is here. You can tell me all about how you were a great helper," Laura reached out fir her niece's hand.

"All right Auntie Laura," Ellie nodded and left the room wit her aunt.

'Well this will be quite a story to tell her later," Matt said as he kissed his daughter's head and watched as she continued to eat, "She figured she was already late so she decided to make up for lost time," He joked.

"Matt," Gabby smiled as she saw the time for the first time in hours, "It's Valentines Day."

"Well how about that," He grinned, "The best Valentines Day Present ever," He kissed Gabby once more, seeing Ella pull away from Gabby's nipple he said, "I'll burp and change her and dress her and then put her in the bassinet. Then I'll finish cleaning everything up, you must be tired."

"Mommy!" Ellie walked into he room holding onto the EMT's hand, "I told them all about how I helped you!"

"That's great sweetie," Gabby smiled at her.

"Well lets jut have a look at everything," The two EMT's walked over to the bed and one began cleaning up the end up the bed as nest as possible while the other checked over Ella. "Well she seems like a healthy baby. However we'd still like for you to go to the hospital just to be sure."

"We'll stay here with them," Laura told Gabby and Matt.

"Thanks," Gabby said as Matt helped her stand up and walk out of the room.

"Auntie Laura I'm tired," Ellie rubbed her eyes.

"I bet," Laura lifted the six year old into her arms and carried her back to her room.

 **TBC**


	27. Orlando, Flordia

**Chapter 1**

 **A\N:** To avoid confusion here are the kids birthdays Andy's is February 20th so he's 12 since he's already had his birthday. Ellie's is August 13th so she's 9 turning 10. Jacob's birthday is November 30th, he's 7 turning 8. Finally Ella's birthday is February 14th, she's 3.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Walt Disney World or anything assocatied to it. I also don't own Universeal Studio's or anything assocaitied with it.

 **Spoilers:** None

 **Warinings:** None

* * *

 **Three Years Later:**

"Wow! Let's go!" Ella jumped up and down with excitement as she saw Cinderella's castle straight ahead. She pulled on Gabby's hand once again pouting when Gabby wouldn't move, "Mommy Cinderella!"

"Hang on a minunte sweetie," Gabby told her. She was trying to get all of her stuff organized, as they hadn't had anywhere to stop since going through security.

It was late March and a lot of states were having Spring Break so naturally it was very busy around the park.

"Mommy!" Ella had waited as long as any two year old could, "Lets go!"

"Ella! Ella!" Matt picked up his anxious daughter, "Sweetheart I know you're excited but we have all day to do everything you want to do. Now how about you sit in the stroller."

When they'd first gotten the stroller at the guest services office gotten the stroller Ella had refused to sit in it. Matt and Gabby hoped that as she got tired she would right now she was just a wounded up ball of energy. They'd gotten a double stroller and right now it was just carrying a backpack but by the end of the day both Ella and Jacob would be in it.

"Mon, Dad," Twelve year old Andy looked up from his map of the park, "Can we go get a ride ticket for Space Mountain and Splash Mountain! It says here it'll be faster." He walked over to his mother and pointed out what he wanted to do.

"Yeah that might be a good idea," Gabby agreed, "Lets go do that then maybe we can do some rides."

"I get auwographs?" Ella asked trying to pronounce the word 'autographs'

"Yeah sweetie you will," Matt kissed her hair.

Ella, like her older sister and Jacob looked more like Gabby then her father. She had curly light brown hair and she was currently wearing a Disney princess dress and crown.

"Daddy down" Ella requested, Matt sighed knowing it probably wasn't the best idea but put her on the ground anyways. As they made there way to Space Mountain Matt kept a tight hold on Ella's hand, the toddler's eyes adverting in every direction at all of the lights and sounds.

Once the reach Space Mountain they went to the ride time booth and Gabby looked at Ellie, the nine year old smiling at some boys that were looking at her. Even though she was only nine Ellie was gorgeous, and she was starting to realize she was.

"Ellie sweetie do you want to go on this ride?" Gabby asked her tapping her shoulder, "We need to know."

Ellie had researched the ride and knew it might be a little scary but she was tall enough to go on it, "Alright."

"Oh please you're going to chicken out!" Andy rolled his eyes, "Then none of us will get to go on it!" Ellie was such a drama queen and she made everything so dramatic.

"Shut up!" Ellie glared at her older brother, "I will not! Mom I want to go on it.'

"Alright Ellie," Gabby ordered three tickets, she wasn't sure Ellie would go on it but she chose to giver her daughter the benefit of the doubt,

"Pridess now!" Ella exclaimed, "Now! Now! Peese!"

"Yes, yes sweetheart," Matt picked her up, "We're going to see princess now." Both Matt and Gabby wanted to see Ella's excitement at getting to see her favourite characters so for now they wouldn't split up, later if Andy and Ellie got board they might.

"Yay!" Ella cheered happily.

"This is kind of lame," Ellie pointed out as they walked through the crowds. She wanted to see some characters to but she wouldn't dare say so, that wasn't at all cool.

"You'll survive I promise!" Gabby told her She didn't want this to turn into a day of Ellie doing nothing but complaining.

"Can we see some of my favourite characters after?" Seven-year-old Jacob wondered. Of his three siblings, Jacob was the most even-tempered one, that and the fact he was the middle child often meant he got left out, or at least he thought he did.

"Of course we can bud," Matt ruffled his black head of hair. Jacob didn't look anything like him and was all Gabby; he definitely took after his mother's Dominican heritage.

They stood in line to meet some of the Disney Princess Ella talking away as they waited. Once they got to the front of the line she ran up to them and hug them, "Hi! I'm Ella! I'm two!" She held up two fingers, "And I dance!" She began to twirl around and dance.

"Oh well that's very good sweetie," One of the Princess' complimented, "Did you want a picture?"

"Give them your autograph book," Gabby prompted Ella.

Ella handed over her book and all of the Princess' signed it, after posing for some pictures she ran excitedly to Andy and Ellie who were waiting on a bench. "Ellie! Ellie! Andy!" She waved the book around, "Look! Look!"

"Aw that's so cute," Ellie smiled, "Ella you're adorable." She loved it hen her sister acted cute, which was most of the time.

"I know," Ella smiled.

"Alright I don't think your sister needs to hear that anymore," Gabby warned, "Now lets go on some rides alright. We can get more autographs later."

"I can't wait until we go to Universal tomorrow," Andy sighed, only here two hours and he was already board to death.

"Me too!" Ellie echoed.

"I know this isn't as much fun for you two," Gabby sympathized, "But just remember to be good alright."

"Yeah," Both Ellie and Andy responded. The family got into the ride line and waited. Ella sat down on the ground.

"Ella sweetie don't sit on the ground, sit in the stroller," Gabby sighed. She knew it was some kind of punishment that both of her daughters's turned not to be incredibly stubborn.

"No!" Ella shook her head, "I big girl!" She declared, she stood up and looked up at Ellie, "Like Ellie!"

"Aw!" Ellie gushed, "You're so adorable!"

Gabby knew she should insist Ella sit in the stroller but she didn't ant to get into an argument with her, she wanted today to be special.

"Mommy! Mommy! Minnie!" Ella screamed with excitement as she saw Minnie Mouse walk down the road. "Lets go!"

"We'll see Minnie after the ride honey," Gabby promised, "Now come on," She reached out for her daughters hands s they walked into a holding room.

Pouting Ella didn't follow her mother; she snuck out of line and went running towards Minnie Mouse.

"Ella honey, come on," Gabby reached her hand back for her daughter; after her daughter didn't take her hand she turned around, Ella? Ella?" With each passing second began to get more and more worried. "Ella!" Matt!" She called frantically for her husband, "Ella-Ella's gone. I don't know where she is."

Matt took a quick look around the line, others now looking for a young girl that didn't belong to them, "Ella this isn't funny!" He shouted but he didn't get a response,

"Matt!" Gabby began to cry, "What are we going to do? What if she's hurt or-" Her brain became to flash all of the terrible things that her three year old daughter could be experiencing "We need to find her!"

"We will" Matt gave her a quick hug and ushered her and their other children out of the line ride. He walked over to the nearest Disney Park Employee, "My three year old daughter is gone. We were in line for a ride and when my wife turned back to get her she wasn't there."

"Alright, The park employee got out a notepad and pen and unclipped his walkie-talkie, "What's your daughter's name?"

Matt looked to Gabby to see if he wanted to respond but she was crying, "Her names Ella. She has brown hair and she's wearing a pink princess dress. Here's a picture," Matt loaded up his cell phone and showed the younger man the picture, "Please you need to find her."

"We'll do everything we can Sir," The man nodded, "Stay here, I'll be right back." He tuned and began talking into his walkie-talkie.

"Ella's gone?" Jacob looked at both of his parents, "Is she hurt?"

"No, she's probably just having a tempter tantrum," Ellie rolled her eyes, "Why does she always get what she wants?" She asked her parents.

"So do you!" Andy told her, "You got away with more then she does when you were her age!"

"Enough! Enough! Both of you!" Gabby yelled, she didn't need this. She couldn't think, she couldn't even see properly, "I just need to sit down."

"Here, here," Matt walked her to a nearby bench.

Soon the park employee returned and brought them to a guest services centre where they were told to wait. Jacob tried to play with some toys but he was too worried about his younger sister. Ellie and Andy were just sitting next to their parents trying their best to support them. Nearly twenty minutes after Ella had disappeared a park employee brought her into the room.

"Ella!" Gabby jumped up and her daughter ran to her, she had been crying, "Oh sweetie we were so worried, don't run away like that. You know better." She picked her daughter up and held her.

Matt kissed her forehead, "Mommy's right, for the rest of the day you're going to be in the stroller no argument.

"No Daddy!" Ella shook her head.

"Yes Esmeralda!" Gabby hardly ever used her daughter's full name but when she did she was serious and even at a young age Ella knew that. She stopped complaining and sat in the stroller although she wasn't happy at all.

"Thank you so much for getting Ella back," Matt told the park employee's. We're very grateful."

"We were glad to help," One of them responded, "But we feel bad that all of you had to go through that so we'd like to do something. How about we get you a reservation for dinner tonight and you guys come with me to a store and pick out something."

"Oh no we couldn't accept that," Matt knew some people might try to sue for what had happened but they weren't like that. Ella had run away and the park had been great at getting her back.

"We insist."

Gabby and Matt shared a look and decided not to fight it, "Alright."

"Great," The park employee led them out of the office and towards a nearby store, "Pick anything you'd like." She looked at the four children.

'Nothing to expensive!" Matt warned them.

Ella saw a big stuffed unicorn on a shelf and smiled pointing to it, "I want that!"

There was no way Gabby or Matt was letting Ella get a toy after what she had just did. Even though she had only just turned three she knew that running away was bad and she knew that she wasn't allowed to go anywhere without an adult or Andy. Simply put, what had happened was that Ella had wanted to do something that her parents wouldn't let her do, so she decided to do it herself, that wasn't the kind of behaviour her parents were going to approve of.

"I'll be outside with Ella," Gabby shared a look with Matt; she knew Ella wouldn't be happy when she was told she couldn't get the stuffed animal. She took hold of the stroller and pushed it outside, luckily she found an empty bench. She sat down on it and turned the stroller so it was facing her.

"Ella running away isn't okay," She began, trying to tall as sternly as she could, "You scared Mommy, Daddy and your sister and brothers a lot. I know you wanted to see Minnie but you should have waited. You need to be patient."

Ella looked at her mother, brown eyes on brown eyes, "I'm sorry Mommy. Go get toy now?" She hadn't ever really been badly punished before so she was new to the concept.

"No Ella," Gabby shook her head, "I don't think you deserve a toy after running away. Mommy and Daddy told you needed to stay with us if you were going to walk, you didn't listen. When you do something that Mommy and Daddy tell you not to do you need to be punished."

"No Mommy!" Ella screamed loudly, she cried and began to kick her legs, "No! No! No!"

Gabby hated to see her baby so upset, Matt and her were done having children so Ella was there was one, knowing that it was hard for Gabby to be so hard and strict on her. She kept telling herself though that this was all good for Ella in the long run, she couldn't be running off like she did.

"Yes Ella." Gabby repeated, she tried to ignore her cried and was grateful when Matt came out with the kids and walked towards them. Andy was carrying a big bag that appeared to be full of things. Ellie had on a lanyard with two pins already on it.

"Mommy!" Jacob ran up to Gabby, "I got a Disney Monorail you can put together," He told her excitedly. He reached into the bag his bother was carrying and pulled out a box.

"Jacob we said something cheap." Gabby reprimanded him looking at Matt for an explanation as to why their son got an expensive gift.

Matt answered, "I got Jake that from us he got a hat from Disney. Ellie got a lanyard and two pins and Andy got a shirt." He took the bag from his son and took out a blue hat and put it on his head, "You promised you'd wear this buddy," He put the hat on Jacob's head before putting the bag underneath the stroller.

"Mom, mom if I see any of the cast members with a lanyard and pins I can trade them and eve get more," Ellie explained, "This is pretty cool."

"That's great honey," Gabby kissed the side of her head, "You guys ready to go on Space Mountain?"

"Finally!" Andy cheered happily, "It's going to be so cool! I just know it will be." He needed it b fun otherwise Magic Kingdom would be no fun at all, although secretly he liked seeing Ella and Jacob have so much fun there was I way he could tell his friends that, everyone knew Magic Kingdom was for little kids.

* * *

"Okay, so where to first?" Matt asked his three older children as they each looked at a map of the park. Today they were visiting Universal " It was nine o'clock in the morning and the park had official opened, by some miracle the family of six had actually made it to the park before the gates opened and were some of the first ones to enter.

He turned to see Gabby a few feet away; she was getting Ella settled into the stroller they'd rented for the day. On top of the stroller was a backpack they'd packed and in the stroller with Ella were her pillow and favourite doll as well as a few toys. Since there wasn't as much to do at Universal for younger children they'd anticipated that Ella would be board for most of the day so they brought along something's to keep her entertained.

"Transformers ride first and then the Simpsons ride," Andy took off his hat to ruffle his hair while looking at some girls walking by. "Hi," He waved to them smiling as they giggled and blushed in return. Andy was a very attractive pre teen and he was already having girls spoon over him. He liked it, liked having beautiful girls fight over him, especially if it made his friends jealous.

"No!" Ellie shook her head as she continued to study her own map of the park, "I want to go on the Minion's Ride. Even Ella can do that one," She grinned and turned to her younger sister who was now somewhat settled in the stroller, "Hey Ella do you want to go on the minion ride?"

"Ooh!" Ella clapped her hands, "Minions are cute!"

"Two against one," Ellie looked at her older brother giving him a stare, She knew what she had done. There was no way her parents would say no now. "You loose."

"Whatever," Andy rolled his eyes. He was used to his sisters getting what they wanted. He'd never tell them this but secretly he only wanted them to be happy, it was the hardest with Ellie as most of the time she annoyed him to no ends but he loved her and he hated knowing how boys thought about her. Ella was easier to love as she still followed him around and laughed at his jokes. She was most defiantly the baby of the family though.

"Can I have a minion?" Ella asked looking at her parents, "Please?"

Gabby and Matt had made a deal with the kids that they'd buy them each one thing from Disney and from Universal as a souvenir. If they wanted anything else it would be from there own money. Something that Jacob had found unfair as Andy ad money from helping Matt with construction jobs and shovelling out driveways over the winter; Ellie had money from being a mother's helper to a few neighbours and her chores. Jacob only had money from his allowance he got from doing extra chores. Unlike her older brother Ella still didn't understand what money meant.

"We can get something on the way out," Gabby knew that Ella would be seeing things she wanted all day and so it would be better to get something closer to the end of the day, before she was asleep and cranky of course.

Ella pouted and was just about to cry when Andy stepped up to her, "Hey kiddo want a piggy-back ride to the Minion ride?"

"Yes!" Ella grinned happily and let her older brother pick her up. He swung her up onto his shoulder, "Are you holding on?"

"Uh-huh," She nodded.

"Alright," Andy grinned and began carrying her.

"Oh look how tall you are," Matt smiled at his youngest, "How do you like it up there?"

"I can see the park!" Ella began pointing at all kinds of things she could see.

"Nice job bud." Matt patted his son's shoulder. He was always amazed at how good of an older brother Andy was. Of course if asked he'd deny it, as it wasn't cool to hang out with your younger siblings.

"It's no big deal Dad," Andy shrugged, "I didn't' want her to embarrass me whens she started crying."

"Uh-huh," Matt eyed him and watched her tickle Ella's feet as he carried her. At the same time he was talking to Jacob and out of the corner of his eye watching Ellie as she walked ahead of him,

"He gets that leadership and compassion honestly," Gabby gave her husband a kiss on the cheek as she caught up to him, "It always amasses me how much like you he is," She began walking beside him as she pushed the now empty stroller.

Matt blushed slightly as he looked at his with before looking back at their children, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For giving me four children and for loving me. I couldn't have asked for a better life."

"You're very welcome and thank you too," Gabby said back.

"Come on lets go! The lines already so long!" Ellie called over her shoulder to her parents. She was right the line was already pretty long. Gabby parked the stroller and got her bag and the family got into line. They waited an hour for the ride but they all loved it.

"I want to go on the roller coasters now," Andy told his parents as soon as they exited the Despicable Me ride. He'd felt as though he'd waited long enough to do what he wanted to do.

"Yes that's fair bud," Matt nodded, he turned to Gabby, "I'll take Andy and Ellie to do some of the bigger rides, are you okay taking Ella to the children's area?"

"Sure Babe," They both liked the bigger rides but Gabby knew Matt could handle them better then she could. "What do you want to do Jacob? She turned to her youngest son and asked. "If you go with Daddy, Andy and Ellie you're going to have to go on the bigger rides. Will you be able to do them?"

"I can," Jacob nodded his head.

Gabby and Matt shared a look, they both knew he might not be able to handle them but wanted to give him a chance. If he got really scared they could always meet somewhere and he could go with Gabby and Ella.

"Here Ellie," Matt took Ellie's backpack off and put in some of the things from Gabby's backpack she had on the stroller. He wanted his phone wallet, a map of the park and jackets for the older kids as well as their swimsuits. "If that gets to heavy you just let me know alright."

"It's fine Dad," Ellie liked being treated like a grown-up so she wasn't about to complain if the bag got too heavy. With a wave to her mother and sister she followed her father and brothers away.

"Alright sweetie," Gabby spoke to Ella, "Lets go to the kids area and see what rides we can find for you. How does that sound?"

"Yes!" Ella cheered excitedly, "Lots of spinning rides."

"You do like the rides that spin," Gabby commented, Ella could ride on spinning rides for ages and not get motion sickness at all. She very rarely got car sick too which was good because Ellie was very prone to it and Jacob sometimes got sick on long car rides as well.

Arriving at the children's area Ella went on almost every ride and got her picture taken with some characters. She was especially happy to see the Minions from Despicable me, one of her favourite movies. She asked again for a Minion toy but Gabby reminded her they'd go into stores later.

Gabby took Ella to a parade along the main stretch of the park and Ella loved seeing a lot of the characters she watched on TV. She sat in the stroller for the entire parade before getting restless.

Gabby pushed the stroller over to a table and got out her cell phone, it was past lunchtime and she'd barely been in contact with Matt. She hadn't gotten Ella anything to eat yet because of the parade and she could see her daughter was getting hungry.

Matt responded saying they were in the Harry Potter area and they were just sitting down to have lunch.

"We're going to go have lunch at a restaurant with Daddy and your brothers and sister," Gabby told Ella as she sent Matt one last text saying they were on the way. Lunch took an hour and a half, after the family was finished Ella fell asleep in the stroller so Matt decided to stay with her well Gabby took the kids on some rides.

Ella slept for two hours and woke up to her father sitting on a bench facing her, "Daddy!" She reached out to him smiling.

"Hey Princess," Matt lifted her out of the stroller and sat her on his lap, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "Did you have a good nap?"

"Yeah, more rides now? And minion?" She asked hopefully. She looked down at the map Matt was looking at and tried to figure out what it meant. She hated not being able to read and do things her older brothers and sister could do. "Daddy what's that?" She asked pointing to a roller coaster.

"That's a big ride sweetie. You're to short for it but when Mommy gets back from the ride she's taking your older brothers and sister on we can go on some rides alright.

"Dad!" Jacob ran up to his father, "That ride was the best!" He pointed excitedly to the Harry Potter ride they'd just been on, "It was like you were in the Gringots back vaults," He began to explain, "And then something went wrong and we went thorough all of these twists and turns. It was my favourite ride. Can you take me on it again?" He wondered. "I have to go with an adult."

"I don't know Jake, the line seemed pretty long," Matt stated. The line had been almost an hour long and there were still other things they wanted to do.

"But I'll wait I promise," He pouted, "I really want to go on it again."

Gabby, Ellie and Andy walked up to where Matt was and Gabby appeared to already know what was going on, "I told you Jacob, Ellie wants to go to a show here that starts soon; but you sad you wanted to go to the show too. What's your choice going to be?"

"I want to do both," The show sounded like it would be fun but he really wanted go back on the ride. "The ride," He finally decided after a few more minutes of thinking.

"Man, we can sit in the front row!" Andy reached out to fist bump his younger brother.

"Sure," Jacob nodded his head, "Dad, are you coming?" He turned to look at his father.

"Sure," Matt stood up and caught up with his sons who were headed back towards the ride.

The rest of the day was spent going on some more rides; as the end of the day drew nearer however all four of the kids slowed down. After they had dinner at a sit down restaurant the family went into some of the bigger stores near the entrance to the park. Ella got a huge Minion plush pillow, which helped her fall asleep on the way back to the condo. Jacob got a stuffed dragon from Harry Potter some candy with his allowance money. Ella got a Harry Potter wand and a Gryffindor Headband with some of her babysitting money. Andy just got some candy and a Voldemort Harry Potter t-shirt that Ella found really scary.

* * *

"Hurry Mommy!" Ella yelled excitedly as she tugged on her mother's hand. The family had just arrived at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Ella wanted to do everything. She began running towards the enttence to the park.

"Wow," Andy picked up his baby sister and held her, "Don't run away." He understood she was excited, after all this was a little kid park and she was a little girl. He didn't want anything else to happen to her though. The last thinf they wanted was for her to get lost again.

"Andy!" She struggled kicking her legs, "Let me go!"

"Let her down Andy," Matt told his son, he reached out to take Ella's hand but the girl took off in the direction of Minnie Mouse, "Hi!" She waved excitedly to the character.

Minnie waved back and reached out to pat her head.

"Here Ella." Ellie caught up to her little sister and handed over her autograph book and a pen, "Get Minnie to sign the book." She smiled as Ella did just that, the girl bursting with excitement. She loved seeing her so excited and happy, it made her happy.

"Sign mine too please." Jacob asked politely handing over his book.

"Ella, Ella," Matt picked up his daughter before she took off again, "Sweetie why don't you ride in the stroller?" He suggested, he knew this was all so much for her and that she was excited but the last thing any of them wanted was or her to get lost.

"No Daddy, my dress!" She shook her head. She was dressed in a Princess dress complete with a tiara and she wanted to show it off.

"Well then you need to walk nicely," He told her seriously, "You hold my hand and don't let go."

"Okay Daddy," She nodded her head. She saw a ride that looked interesting and tugged on his hand, "Daddy! This ride!" Matt looked at his wife, Gabby nodding he head, "Alright Ella."

"No way!" Andy shook his head, "I'm not going on that." That had to be one of the most babyish rides here. "Can I stay out here?" He practically pleaded with his parents.

Matt, having been a pre-teen boy himself understood his son's reluctance to show any kind of emotion here. "Alright but you stay right on that bench over there." He pointed out a spot where his son was to wait. "And don't talk to anyone and-"

"I know Dad." He sighed, "I'll be fine," He took out his phone and began to play a game as he walked over to the bench.

"Ugh," Ellie shook her head, "He thinks he's so cool but he's not."

"Leave your brother alone Ellie." Gabby led her away. She could also understand why Andy wouldn't want to be here. She knew he liked it though, he just wouldn't admit it.

The family went on lots of rides and saw some different characters before having some lunch.

"Oh no! Oh no! Splash!" Jacob giggled as he dunked his chicken nugget into the sauce. He took some fries and dunked them in as well.

"Jacob," Gabby looked at him and shook her head, "You know better then to play with your food. Now eat up and we'll get going."

"I'm so excited for Tower of Terror!" Andy grinned widely. Since Ella had gotten to do a lot of what she wanted Gabby and Matt had told him that they could go on some of the thrill rides now. He looked Ellie and rolled his eyes, "You better not throw-up. You know if you eat a lot you will."

"I will not!" Ellie made a face at him, "You're such a jerk. I'm not going to be scared at all." She was determined to go on the thrill rides since she was just tall enough to. She knew they looked kind of scary but she wanted to prove to Andy that she wasn't afraid, "I can do anything you can! I'll prove it!"

"Okay Ellie that's enough, calm down," Gabby knew as her daughter's voice grew people were starting to stare at them, "Finish eating your salad alright." She watched her daughter settle back down and couldn't help but think back to her childhood. She had always wanted to keep up with Antonio despite the ten-year age difference between them. Ellie wanting to be like Andy wasn't much different.

"Me too." Ella spoke up. "I want to go too!"

"Sorry sweetie you're to short," Matt told her, "But Mommy and Daddy are going to go on it twice with Ellie and Andy so someone will stay with you and Jacob." Matt explained the parent ride switch off that the park offered; it was great because they only had line-up once for each ride and Andy and Ellie could stay on the ride while Matt and Gabby switched places looking after Jacob and Ella.

Each of the two thrill lines were almost two hours long, but for Andy it was worth it. He loved the Rocking Roller Coaster so much that he went on it two more times alone using the single riders line. Ellie had liked it but didn't want to go again so she went on some more rides with her younger brother and sister.

At the end of the day when the family was leaving the park all four kids were tired, Ella was asleep in the stroller, Jacob asleep on Matt's shoulders and Ellie was rubbing her eyes as she held her mother's hand. Andy was the most awake but even he fell asleep in the car on the way back to the resort.

* * *

On Friday at the end of the week it was time to go home. All the kids were upset as they'd had such gig time and one of them wanted to go back to school. The family had only been on the road a few hours since dinner when the car started to act up. First the car started to not break as fast and then the tire blew. Gabby pulled over to the side of the highway and stopped the car.

"Stay here, all four of you. This is a busy highway and its dark out. Cars are going really fast I don't want any of you to get hurt." Matt unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to look at the kids.

"What's wrong?" Andy asked. "Dad I can help. I can hold the flashlight."

"No! What did I just say?" Matt looked at him sternly. "Stay in the car." He knew Andy might be able to help a little bit but even though he was twelve and he'd be careful on the side of the highway Matt didn't want to take any chances.

"I think the tires only one of the problems." Gabby explained as Matt met her at the side of the car, "I can't be sure but we may have hit something that caused some damage. The spare tires underneath all of the luggage. I think the only thing we can do is call a tow truck and have them take us to a hotel for the night. I don't think any garages would be open now but hopefully the car can be dropped off and fixed tomorrow."

Matt wasn't going to argue with his wife, he knew she was probably right. Gabby could change a tire on her own and she knew a lot about cars after taking classes in high school. He loved seeing mechanics try to short-change her and then get the surprise of their life when they saw she knew what she was talking about. He could only hope that his daughters knew just as much about cars as they got older.

"Sounds like a plan." Matt got out his cell phone and called for a tow-truck. Meanwhile Gabby mentally tried to decide what they'd need to stay over night at a hotel. She decided to just go threw the bags and grab a little but of everyone's clothes. She even managed to find the kids swimsuits so that they could go swimming if the hotel had a pool.

"Alright." Gabby got back into the car with two bags. She turned around to look at the kids, "Dad's calling a tow truck to come and get us. It might take awhile but until it comes we need to stay in the car."

"I'm going to get kidnapped!" Ellie spoke up nervously, "This is how a lot of kidnaps and murders happen."

"Elizabeth, nothing is going to happen to you. Gabby told her. "Now you're going to scare youth younger brother and sister."

"But Mom all of the shows I watch have had an episode like this." She pointed out. She didn't want her mother to realize she was really scared of getting hurt. She knew she was lucky her parents let her watch the crime dramas she did. If they thought they scared her and made her worry she wouldn't be able to watch them anymore.

"Those are fiction, idiot!" Andy informed her. He rolled his eyes and huffed, "Besides you only watch them to drool over all of the guys."

"I do not!" Ellie punched him. "And you go over to friend's houses and look up pictures of girls. At least what I'm looking at is real!"

"That's enough, both of you!" Gabby turned to look at the oldest two.

"Mommy," Ella began to cry, "Is Ellie right?" She attempted to unbuckle her booster seat but was unable to as she was to upset. She continued to cry.

"Nice going Ellie," Andy punched his sister's shoulder, "You scared Ella." He unbuckled his seatbelt and walked to the captain's chairs and undid his sister's seat. He kissed her cheek before handing her over to Gabby.

"Nothing's going to happen to you," Gabby kissed Ella's hair and hugged her tightly, "Your older sister just watches too many scary TV shows. But those TV shows aren't real."

Still crying Ella buried her head into Gabby's shirt. She wrapped her arms around her mother and closed her eyes tightly.

"A tow truck should be here within an hour. Matt announced as he climbed back into the car. It's going to take us to a hotel and we can stay the night. The car is going to be fixed tomorrow and hopefully it won't take that long."

"Daddy!" Ella climbed over the seat divider and into her father's lap. She hugged him tightly. "I'm scared."

"Ellie told her we'd all get murdered." Andy informed is father.

"Ella's wrong right?" Jacob spoke up. He didn't want to be scared like his younger sister was but he couldn't help be a little worried.

"Yeah she's wrong bud," Matt told his son. "Elizabeth we're going to have a talk later." He turned his head and glared at his daughter.

Ellie knew she was in trouble so she just nodded her head, "Yes Dad."

An hour later the tow truck came, Matt and Andy went with the tow truck to the garage well Gabby stayed with the other kids and waited for a taxi to bring them to a hotel. It was past midnight before they finally got settled and all four kids were exhausted. They got two hotel rooms and Matt took the boys in one and Gabby and the girls in the other. The car wasn't badly damaged and the mechanics were able to fix it. By noon the family was getting ready to leave again.

"Ellie I want to talk to you." Matt told her as they walked out of restaurant near the hotel. Ellie nodded and followed her father in the opposite direction her mother and siblings were going. "What made you think you were in danger last night?"

"I wasn't really scared Dad." She attempted to explain, "I mean I was but not really, all of the shows I watch have episodes like that. I just… I'm sorry I scared Ella. I know she had nightmare last night." When her younger sister hadn't been able to sleep and was crying she felt awful. "I won't talk about it again."

"That's good. But I'm more worried that you really believe all of those bad things happen. You're old enough to know that the world isn't perfect but murders and other crimes don't happen nearly as often as they do on the shows you watch. Maybe you should take a break from watching them."

"No!" She shook her head violently. "The season finales are in like two months! I can't stop watching them now. I know they're not real."

"Ellie your mother said you sounded really scared last night. I think that's something we need to talk about."

"I was a little scared." She admitted. "But I know nothing would have happened; and I know not to talk to strangers or to get into a strangers call. I'm smart Dad. I like all of the shows I watch more for the medical knowledge and I know that's exaggerated too." There was another reason she liked the shows she watched, and that was because they all had lots of good-looking male actors. However, there was no way she was telling her father that.

"Alright." There was no denying that Ellie was smart, easily the smartest in her grade at school. She'd wanted to be a doctor since she was little and Matt had no doubt if she wanted to become one then she would be. She was still only eight though and no matter how smart she was there were some things she just wasn't ready to see. He made a mental note to stir down and watch some of these shows with her, he wanted to see the kind of things she was being exposed to on a weekly basics.

* * *

 **A\N:** I really hope you liked this long vacation chapter.


	28. Andy's First Date

**A\N:** It's Andy's first date. How will it go?

 **Andy's First Date**

"Just ask her out man!" Andy's best friend Bradley rolled his eyes as he closed his locker. "You've liked her since we were eight everyone knows that. If you don't ask her out soon someone else will, she's gorgeous."

Andy closed his locker and took a deep breath, he hated to admit it but his best friend was right. In September they'd be going into grade eight and getting ready to go to high-school by then he wanted to have a girlfriend, and at the very least kissed a girl before.

"Fine, I can talk to her. I can ask her out." He said, although he didn't sound to sure of himself. He swung his backpack onto his back and walked down the hallway to her locker. She was with her friends and they all giggled when they saw him; he hated it when they did that.

"Hi Andy," Sofia didn't look up from where she was putting books into her backpack.

"Uh, hi Sofia," He attempted to make himself look cool. "I was…." He took a deep breath and tried to steady himself, "Do you like movies?"

Sofia stopped putting her books into her backpack. Did he just ask her out? Did Andy Casey, the coolest boy in their grade ask her out? This was a dream come true. She'd had a crush on him since they were eight.

Sofia put a stand of her dark brown hair behind her ears and attempted to smile, although it came out as more of an awkward mouth movement, "Yeah I do."

"So do I. So I was uh… doyouwanttogoamoviewithme?" Andy asked his words jumbled together and fast. In anticipation of her rejection he cringed and closed his eyes.

Sofia thought he'd asked her out, but he was speaking so fast she barely understood anything. She stood there for a few seconds starting at him and wondering what to do. Should she ask him what he said? Should she say yes? Just ignore him?

Taking a deep breath she tried to meet his gaze. "Sorry, I couldn't understand you."

"Do you want to go to a movie with me tomorrow night?"

Sofia felt like she was going to explode. She couldn't wait to tell her friends. Barely managing not to sequel she nodded her head, "Sure."

"Great. I'll text you later." He smiled to himself as he watched her walk away. Then realizing he was going to miss his bus he took off and ran, he just barely made in time. He sat down in the only seat with one person.

"Why are you late?" Ellie poked her head around the corner, "Did you get into trouble? Do you have a note for mom and dad?" The nine year old enquired.

Andy turned his head to look at his younger sister who was sitting in the seat behind him with Jacob, "None of your business! Now just leave me alone!"

Ellie couldn't miss this opportunity though, she knew something was going on, "You did get into trouble didn't you. What did you do? You know Dad's going to be really mad if you get into another fight."

Andy cringed with anger, "You know I was defending my friend!" He spun back around referring to a fight he'd gotten into earlier in the year, something he was lucky he wasn't suspended for, "And I swear Ellie I won't punch you on the bus but I will as soon as we get off." He threatened.

"Then I'll tell Mom an you'll get into even more trouble!" She told him, she loved teasing him. "So just tell me what you did?"

"Ellie!" He glared at her, "I'm not talking to you anymore," He put on his headphones and got out his phone to text Sofia.

For most of the ride home Ellie tried to get her brother to talk but didn't have any luck. When they got off the bus at their stop he took Jacob's hand and held it as they crossed the street.

"Oh come on!" Ellie begged, "I need to know what happened?"

"Shut up Ellie!" Andy was now seriously annoyed, "I'm not going to tell you." He knew she'd tell their parents and he needed to somehow ask them if he could go on a date. He assumed they'd say yes as they'd never said he couldn't date. His father would understand more but he was working at the firehouse and he couldn't get there without it looking suspicious.

They reached the house and Andy opened it and Jacob went running in, "Mom!" Ellie shouted, "Andy has something he needs to tell you!"

"You're dead!" Andy shoved her to the ground Ellie getting right back up and shoving her older brother.

"Enough!" Gabby yelled walking into the font hallway, "You're only home two seconds and you're already fighting." She shook her head, when this happened she knew something had preceded it,

"Mom, Ellie's been bugging me the entire bus ride home," Andy tried to explain, "I asked her nicely to stop but she just keeps talking! She's so annoying! And she's such a little brat!" Andy took off his shoes and went to walk into the kitchen to put away his lunch bag and lunch containers.

"I am not!" Ellie went to hit him as he passed but Gabby glared at her. "Mom he was late for the bus and there's a reason why!" She complained, "I just need to know!"

"Elizabeth, you know you don't need to know everything. Now go and put your lunch bag and things away in the kitchen and go straight upstairs to your room. You and Ella can eat your snack up there."

"Alright," Ellie agreed, she followed her mother into the kitchen where Ella climbed down from her booster seat and ran to hug her. She wrapped her arms around her older sister and beamed up at her.

"You're home!" She smiled. "Let's play house!" Ella loved all three of her older siblings but she and Ella always had a special relationship, as they were the only girls. "Come on Ellie!" She pulled her sister's hand.

" Alright Ella." Ellie looked down at her sister and placed a hand on her shoulder. She took out the empty containers in her lunch bag and put them on the counter along with her lung bag.

"Here," Gabby walked towards her with two child friendly plates with apple slices and cheese slices, "We'll trade, you give me your agenda to look over and I'll give you these, you take your sister upstairs to your room and play with her."

"Alright," Ellie nodded her head and handed over her agenda and took the plates, "Mrs. Blake put the homework assignment's in the app."

"We'll work on the homework later. Go upstairs, you to Jake." Gabby told her youngest son as she handed him another plate of apple slices and cheese slices.

After the three younger children had left Gabby looked at her oldest. Andy was sitting at the table his homework laid out as he picked at his snack. That meant something was seriously wrong, Andy was always hungry.

"What happened at school today?" Gabby inquired as she looked at her eldest, who in so many ways reminded her of her husband.

"Nothing Mom." Andy sighed; he really didn't want to have to explain things to his mother. He knew thought that she wasn't going to let it go, "Can I go to firehouse to visit Dad?"

Something had happened but it wasn't something her son wanted to tell her, she understood that, knew Andy was growing up, although she couldn't say it didn't hurt jut a little bit. "Sure. I'll drive you but call your father first, ask him if it's okay."

"Great," Andy got out his cell phone and left the room.

* * *

"Ah, your Dad told us you were coming," Peter Mills greeted Andy as he walked into the firehouse. His mother had dropped him off and was going to take his younger siblings out for dinner and pick him up afterword's, "I swear you get taller every time I see you." He said as he stood from the head of the Squad table.

"Hi Uncle Peter." Andy greeted. He'd known the now Squad Lieutenant since he was a baby and he liked him a lot. "Is my Dad in his office?" He inquired. His father was now the Chief of firehouse 51.

"Yeah he's waiting for you." Mills told him.

Andy smiled and walked the familiar route to his father's office; he knocked on the door and waited for his father to tell him to enter. When he did he stepped into the office and closed the door. He looked around the room and smiled. His father's office had lots of pictures of the family.

Matt looked up from the reports he was doing, "What's up son?" He asked Andy. Ever since his twelve year old had called him almost an hour ago he'd been trying to think about what it could be about. He just hoped I wasn't anything serous, or anything bad.

Andy took a deep breath and sat in the chair opposite his father's desk. "I uh…. I you remember Sofia?"

"Yeah," Matt had known for a few years that his son had a crush on the girl.

"Well I kind of asked her out today and I don't want you to make a big deal about it. I know Mom would so that's why I'm asking you."

This was a big step for Andy but Matt understood why he didn't want anyone to make a big deal out of it, "Alright. Well I think you're old enough to start dating, and we know Sofia, she's a nice girl. When are you going out?"

"I'm going to take her to a movie tomorrow. So can you drive us and pick us up afterwards?"

"Of course. I have a construction job during the day I should be finished before you get home from school. Remember you and Jacob are going to help me out in the weekend."

"Yes," Andy liked helped out his father with constriction jobs, and not just because he sometimes got paid.

"What time are you and Sofia going to the movies tomorrow night?" Matt asked.

"I was thinking around eight. There's a movie out that she said she wanted to see at eight thirty. I probably won't like it much but…" Andy wasn't sure if that's what he was supposed to do or not. "I uh..." He ruffled his hair up. "Do I have to kiss her?"

"Do you want to?" Matt needed to know what his son wanted to do before he answered any of his questions.

"I don't know. I think I do but I don't even know what to do if I kiss her. I mean where do I put my hands? Is kissing like it is in the movies? What if…. I don't want to think of more then kissing."

Matt was glad to here his son wasn't thinking of doing more then just kissing Sofia. Like mot boys his age Matt guessed Andy had seen pictures of woman in a magazine like Playboy but it made him feel better that for now it was just pictures. He was only twelve after all.

"You don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with. Kissing is something you do when you feel you're ready for. I don't want you to do it just because all of your friends are. Kissing Sofia just to impress your friends wouldn't be good for either one of you."

Andy nodded his head, he understood that, "Thanks Dad."

"No problem but I think you should tell your mother about your date. She'll be excited for you but that's okay. You don't have to tell your younger brother and sisters if you don't want to."

Andy knew better then to disagree with his father, "Ellie will just get so girly about it. She'll think its cute and what if Mom does too?"

"Your first date is a big deal and your mother's allowed to make a big deal about it, but she doesn't want to embarrasses you. And your sister will just be happy for you, you know she really does love you."

"I know." Andy did know that his younger sister loved his despite all of the disagreements they got into.

Andy stayed at firehouse fifty-one for another hour before his mother picked him up. When they got home Ella went to go and play while Andy, Ellie and Jacob prepared to do their homework.

"Mom," Andy settled himself down at the kitchen table where Gabby was helping Ellie and Jacob do their homework, "Dad said I should tell you… please don't make a big deal about it but tomorrow I'm going on a date with Sofia."

Gabby looked up at her son and grinned, that was great news, his first date. "Oh Andy sweetie that's fantastic." She hugged him, "I'm so proud of you, so happy," She kissed his cheek.

"Mom!" He groaned as he whipped off his cheek.

"Andy and Sofia sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G first comes love, then comes marriage then comes Sofia pushing the baby carriage!" Ellie sang out as Jacob laughed,

"Elizabeth, that's enough!" Gabby scolded. "Andy's nervous enough, you don't need to make it worse."

"Sofia's pretty," Ellie said scrunching up her face, "I don't know why she'd go out with Andy. Your head's so big!"

"Elizabeth!" Gabby narrowed her eyes and glared at her daughter, "You keep this up and you'll be grounded. Do you want that?"

"No" Ellie shook her head and went back to doing her homework.

* * *

Andy walked with out of the movie theatre. The movie had been all right, better then Andy had been expecting. Before or during the movie though he hadn't been able to say anything to Sofia. She looked really pretty wearing black leggings and a dark blue top but he couldn't tell her that. Whenever he tried his mouth just got dry and he ended up making embarrassing noises.

He needed to say something to her so he took a deep breath and said, "You uh… you look really pretty."

"Thanks." She blushed a little. "The movie was really good but are you sure you don't want me to pay for anything? I really think I should."

"No, no." Andy shook his head, "It's fine. I get money when I mow people's lawns and sometimes when I help my father out with his construction jobs."

"Oh yeah," Sofia smiled, "I get money babysitting so here," She reached into her pocket and handed over ten dollars. "That's my Mom," She saw her mother's car." Her mother was picking her up and taking he to her friend's house for a sleepover. "See you on Monday I guess." She looked at him. She wasn't really sure what else to do.

"Uh yeah," He handed her back the money but she didn't take it. "Sofia?" He called her name and she turned around, "Thanks," He kissed her cheek and then gave her a hug.

Sofia was sure she was as red as a tomato now. She couldn't believe tat had just happened. She forgot about everything for a second, "Uh…" She turned to look him in the eyes and almost melted. He was so good looking and she especially loved his eyes. "I should probably go." She said but she didn't move.

"Right," He leaned in to kiss her this time kissing her on the lips. He knew his father told him he didn't have to kiss her on the first date and not to feel pressured but it felt right. The kiss was short and sweet and Andy had never felt so happy after it had ended.

"Wow," Sofia breathed out, she smiled at him as she turned and walked towards her mother's car. She couldn't wait to tell her friend's what had just happened.

 **TBC**


	29. Ellie's First Crush

**A\N 1:** Well I was going over some of the earlier Ones-Shots I found out that I got the kids ages wrong in the Disney mini story. I'm changing them back to what they're supposed to be. These are the right ages Andy is 12, Ellie is 9, Jacob is 8 and Ella is 3.

 **A\N 2:** This ideas wasn't originally supposed to be this long but the idea kind of got away from me. I really hope you like this and think its age appropriate, as I was really trying to make sure that it was.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't

 **Warinings:** Rated 'T' for semi-adult content.

 **Spoilers:** None

* * *

 **Ellie's First Crush**

"So man tell us about your date last night?" Andy's friend Bradley prodded as they sat in his bedroom doing their homework, at least that's what they were supposed to be doing in reality they were doing anything but. They talked about what video games they'd play after they were finished and about sports.

"Man, she's really cute." Andy sighed, "But I was totally lame. I didn't say anything right." He shook his head, "I don't understand it. A few years ago girls weren't' this complicated and now they are. I mean I didn't know what to say. I just kept looking at her boobs."

"James let me look at his porn magazines last week, man you guys have to see it," Cooper told his friends of his older brothers secret dirty magazines, "These girls are gorgeous. I hope all of them look like that!"

"Nah I don't need to go to you're house." Andy shook his head; "They're probably the same girls that Ellie has in her magazines. They're babes for sure."

"Bro," Cooper laughed, "These babes are naked! Totally naked!"

"What?" Andy and Bradley eyes went wide as they turned and stared at their mutual best friend.

"Wow!" Andy breathed, "I need to come over to your house and see that! What do they look like?"

"Well-" Cooper was about to tell them when Jacob walked into the room he shared with Andy.

"Ugh!" Andy groaned at his younger brother, "I thought Mom took you shopping!"

The eight year old walked over to his bed and grabbed some of his toys, "She did. We're back. Are you really doing homework?" He looked at the textbooks that hadn't been opened yet.

Andy picked up a toy on the ground and threw it at him, "Go away! You're too young to hear what we're talking about!"

"I am not! I'm just getting my toys. Mom says I have to leave you alone." Jacob gathered up his superhero action figures and went to the toy shelf to get his toy fire truck.

"Whatever," Cooper rolled his eyes. "We can talk about the magazines later." He told his friends, changing the subject he looked at Andy. "What base did you get to with Sofia last night?"

Jacob reached for his fire truck and turned around, "I thought you went to a movie? Did you play baseball too?" He asked innocently. Then, to his frustration his older brother and his friends burst out into laughter.

"You're such a baby!" Andy mocked. He picked up another one of his toys and whipped it at him, "You don't understand anything!"

"I understand you're supposed to be doing your homework," Jacob frowned. He wanted to know why they were laughing at him. "I'm going to tell Mom you're not!" He threatened.

"Whatever," Andy rolled his eyes and continued to laugh with hid friends as Jacob walked out of the room.

Jacob walked into the kitchen and sat at the kitchen table beside his older sister Ellie who was doing her homework. "Andy kicked me out of my room!" He complained as he began playing with his action figures.

"That's because you're annoying! Now go away! I'm doing my homework," She continued to doodle on her notebook. She didn't look up as he climbed up onto the chair beside her and began to play with his toys. He made his superhero action figure jump over her notebook.

"Jacob!" Ellie sighed, "See, this is why you're so annoying. Now for the last time I'm doing my homework, leave me alone."

Jacob leaned over, "No you're not. You're writing a boy's name down. Who's Patrick? Is he your boyfriend?" He pointed to all of the hearts all over the page. He then proceeded to make kissing noises.

Ellie's face turned beat red and she shoved her brother to the floor, "You little freak! You're so annoying! Go live in the zoo!"

"Ellie." Gabby stopped putting away the groceries and looked at her daughter, "That's not very nice and you don't push your brother."

"Fine!" Ellie rolled her eyes, "But he's so bad and Ella's even worse. Everyone needs to leave me alone!"

Gabby knew that this, along with other things was a sure sign that Ellie was going through puberty. "Jacob go and play downstairs in the basement with your younger sister alright."

Jacob sighed but took his toys and left anyways.

Gabby quickly finished putting away the groceries and sat down beside her daughter. She knew that this would happen eventually. Ellie was ten years old and she was very beautiful, she could be a model. She was learning about sex-ed in school although it wouldn't make this any easier,

"How about I help you with your homework in your room?" Gabby offered.

"No, I'm okay," Ellie shrugged as she continued to doodle in her notebook. "You're not mad at me for not doing my homework?" She suddenly wondered why her mother was questioning what she was doing,

"I want to know more about Patrick," Gabby started off lightly, "Is he in your class?"

"Yeah." Ellie nodded her head, and then it hit her. Was her mother going to give her 'the talk?' She didn't want to have _that_ talk with her mother. She knew it would be the most embarrassing thing she'd ever experienced. "Mom its nothing really! I don't like him all that much anyways." She hoped her mother wouldn't see through her lie.

"It's not just because of that Ellie," Gabby looked at her, "You're learning about this in school now and next year you'll be in grade six. These next few years are going to be really hard for you. Come on lets go up to your room and talk alright"

"Oh fine." Ellie sighed collecting her books, she knew she didn't have a choice, "But can you please not tell Dad about this!" She almost begged, her father finding out she had a crush or talked about anything like this with her mother would be the worst. She wouldn't put it past her father to come to her class and interrogate Patrick in front of everyone.

"You know I need to tell your father about these things Ellie. He knows you're growing up. It's just hard for him, you're his little girl and he wants to protect you."

"He can baby Ella. She's a baby anyways." She groaned. They walked in silence up the stairs and into her bedroom she shared with her younger sister, "She still plays with baby toys! I keep telling her to keep them off my bed and on her side of the room!" She yanked some toys off her bed and threw them across the room, "If we're having this talk does that mean I finally get to move into the spare bedroom?" She huffed plopping down on the edge of her bed.

It was no secret that she had wanted her own room for the longest time. The only problem was that the house had four bedrooms and so only two of the children would get there own room and the other two would need to share. Luckily until the last few months things had been okay but now Andy and Ellie both wanted their own rooms; and unless Ella and Jacob shared a room that would not be possible.

"I don't think so." Gabby told her honestly. "For right now you're just going to have to share a room with your younger sister. I know there's a big age difference but you two get along well most of the tine."

"I guess so." Ellie had to admit she did like her younger sister and when she wanted to be Ella could be very cute and sweet, other times though she was very annoying. "Can I get the room later though?"

"We'll see," Gabby sat beside her on the bed, "Now sit up and listen," She instructed, "We have some important things to talk about."

Once Jacob had left the room Andy shut it once again. He sat up against the door and looked at his best friends, "No way you have the magazines here."

Cooper nodded his head and pulled out a magazine from his backpack, "I sneaked it out of my brother's bedroom." He showed his friends. "Look at her." He pointed to the naked model on the cover.

"Wow!" Andy's eyes went wide, "Is that what all girls are going to look like when they're older? All of the ones in our grade even?" He certainly hoped so.

"Don't be ridiculous bro!" Bradley laughed, "Only the hot ones are going to look like that. The hot ones are the popular ones. You know I bet Sofia is going is going to have all of the best parties at her house. Man you're so lucky to be dating her.

"Yeah she's really cute. She's nice though I don't know about wild parties," Andy didn't want to think about Sofia throwing wild parties. All of his life he'd been drilled about not doing drugs and not drinking. What would he do if all of his friends did though? Would he have to do it as well?

"My brother goes to parties all of the time," Cooper informed his friends, "He's even had sex with his girlfriend before. I found some condoms in his room and threatened to tell Mom and Dad if he didn't tell me."

He needed to have sex with her too? As all of these thoughts entered his mind he started to become dizzy, "Man lets see more of the magazine." He grabbed it and began to flip through it hoping that all he needed was some distraction.

After the boys looked it over for half an hour they heard Gabby come out of Ellie's room and quickly stashed it away. Andy jumped up and ran to sit on his bed just as gabby knocked don the door.

"You boys better be doing some homework," She warned after coming in, "Just another half an hour then I think Cooper and Bradley should head home."

"Okay Mom," Andy nodded.

Gabby closed the door and walked out of the room and headed towards the basement. She could hear her two youngest arguing, "What's going on?" She asked walking into the unfinished basement they used for more active games.

"I want too play!" Ella cried as she pointed to where Jacob was taking shots on a hockey net with tennis balls.

"She's to little," Jacob, said, "She already cried when I accidently hit her!"

Ella stuck out her tongue at him and marched back over to where she was playing on the other side of the basement with her tricycle and her favourite stuffed animals.

"Mom," Jacob stopped taking shots and looked at her, "Can I ask you something?" He hoped that it what Andy and his friends were talking about wasn't bad, but he was curious and wanted to know.

"Sure sweetie."

"What's porn?" He wondered.

The question caused Gabby to freeze. Did her eight year old really just ask her that? "Uh-" She scrambled to find the right words to answer the question, "It's something for adults." She blurted out, "Who told you about porn?"

"Uh…"

"Jacob." Gabby now had a sneaky feeling it was Andy. She sighed and wished Matt wasn't at work. It would be better for him to talk to Andy about this. "Was it Andy?"

"Yeah," He responded in a muffled voice. "Is Andy in trouble? Am I in trouble?"

"No, no I just need to talk to him," Gabby told him, A quick look at her phone thought told her, her husband woukd be home in almost four hours. She might be able to wait that long to talk to him first. "Don't say that word again alright. Come play upstairs, you too Ella."

* * *

After what felt like a forty-eight hour shift Matt walked into the house. It was ten o'clock, which meant he hoped at least his youngest children, would be in bed asleep.

"Daddy!" Ella scrambled down the stairs and ran towards him. She crushed her body into his, "I misseded you!"

Matt picked up his three year old, "Ella its way past your bedtime." At least she was in her pyjamas. That was good.

"Hi Dad!" Andy walked to the top of the stairs and yelled down before putting his headphones back on and walking back to his room.

"Hey Babe." Gabby walked in from the kitchen. "Ella. I told you, you could see Daddy tomorrow. You're going to be extra tired tomorrow and it's a busy day."

"No Mommy," Ella said as she rubbed her eyes, "I'm not tired."

"Uh-huh, come here." She reached out her arms for her, "Lets get you to bed."

"I got her," Matt told his wife, "You must be tired too."

"I am," She admitted, "But I'm trying to get Andy and Ellie to bed too. We really need to talk about moving one of them into the guest bedroom. I'll be in the kitchen. I don't think you'll have a problem with her," She pointed to Ella who was already half asleep, "She's been coming out of her room a lot though. Wanted to wait up to see you."

"I'll see what I can do," Matt gave her a kiss and headed upstairs, she walked into the girls room to see Ellie stretched out on her bed on her IPad. "Ellie, put that away its time for bed."

"I'm not tired. I shouldn't have a bedtime anymore." She didn't remove her gaze from the screen. "Mom didn't talk to you did she? Please don't ask about anything."

Matt tucked Ella into bed and made sure she had all of her favourite dolls and stuffed animals. He gave her a kiss and then turned his attention back to Ellie, "You're ten years old Elizabeth. Now I'm not sure what your mother told you about staying up later but you're bedtime is nine thirty. It's now almost ten o'clock. Put your IPad away and go to bed. Don't make me tell you again."

"But Dad I-"

Matt walked the few feet to her bed and snatched the device right out of her hands, "I'm tired of your attitude. This is going to be mine for two days. Maybe that'll teach you something. Now goodnight."

Ellie frowned tears stinging her eyes, "I hate you," She mumbled as she rolled over and continued to sulk.

Even though he was used to hearing his children, especially Ellie, say that to him it still hurt. He knew though that he was only doing what was best for her and that she'd get over it.

"Goodnight Ellie," He flicked on Ella's nightlight and walked out of the room still carrying her IPad. He crossed the hall to the boy's room and saw Jacob asleep on the bottom bunk, Andy busy on his laptop on the top bunk, "Ten more minutes alright bud. I'm going to go and talk to your mother and when I come back its time for bed."

"All right Dad," Andy nodded, his voice lowered.

Matt nodded and left to go to the kitchen. When he got there he saw that Gabby was just finding up the dishes. He walked to the fridge to look for something quick to eat and said, "Is the thing you wanted to talk to me about involve Ellie? She was acting really nervous and guilty when I went up to tell her to go to bed. I took her IPad for two days by the way."

"Alright," Gabby nodded, she has thought about doing the same thing, "One of the things I want to talk to you about involves Ellie the other involves Andy. You may want to sit down when I tell you Ellie's.

"Oh boy," Matt took a bit out of the apple to took and rubbed his face as he sat down,

"It's not as bad as that," Gabby sat down beside him, "Ellie has her first crush on a boy her age. I'm not telling you more because you'll run a background check but just know she's growing up. I did have a small talk to her too. She's learning about it in school so she has questions about all of this.

"That's pretty bad." Matt told her, "She's growing up and turning into a teenager. I just hope she's not as bad as you were. You even admit you went through a horrible rebellious phase. I know we're going to have the worst time with her.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Gabby told him, "But for right now we just need to be patient and understanding but still firm. I think to we need to try and start treating her more like a pre-teen, let her babysit Ella on a trial basics, learn how to cook a full meal."

"Sounds good." Matt agreed, "That'll give her something to feel good about. What happened with Andy?"

"Your son and his friends were reading porn magazines today," She informed him.

"What?" Matt chocked on his apple and had to take a quick glass of water. "He was reading porn?"

"Oh!" She eyed him; "Don't act like you never read them when you were his age! It's normal, he's a curious pre-teen boy but just because it's normal doesn't mean it's acceptable."

"No, no its certainly not."

"I didn't catch him but I think Jacob did. He asked what porn was and when I questioned him further later on he admitted he saw them reading porn magazines. I thought it would be better for you to talk to Andy about it though. This brings me to my next point; I think Andy should have the extra room. He's the oldest and like it or not he's going to have more adult conversations with his friends over the next few years. I know Ellie will throw a fit but for now I think that's the best answer. I don't think it would be a good idea to have Jacob and Ella share a room for just a few years.

"No, no I agree. When Ellie's twelve or thirteen we can renovate the basement and build a room and bathroom down there. Andy can move in the new room and Ellie can have his room."

"I didn't think of that," Gabby leaned in to kiss him, "Now how was your day?" She asked.

"Long. I missed all of this." He waved his hand around, "As crazy as it is. I'll go talk to Andy about what happened today. Then I'm going to bed, it was as long shift."

"I'll come join you in a few minutes," Gabby gave him another kiss.

 **TBC**

* * *

 **A\N:** I hope you liked this.


	30. Dr Ellie to the Rescue

**Dr. Ellie to the Rescue**

Jacob looked at his elaborate LEGO city and taped his chin. It needed something else but he wasn't sure what. "What does it need." He spoke to himself. He looked at the army soldiers and toy police officers he had and got an idea.

"Ella won't know," He assured himself, he walked out of his room and across the hall to his sister's room. There sitting where it always was, was Garcia Ella's favourite teddy bear. The bear was hardly ever out of his youngest sister's site. Fortunately she was with their mother picking up Ellie from a girl scout's meeting. "I'm not going to hurt her that much." Jacob talked to himself as he grabbed the stuffed animal and went back into his room.

She's going to be hurt. He thought to himself, he went to get scissors from his desk and cut a little nip into the bears arm. When that didn't seem like enough to cut into the pregnant. He placed her behind some of the army men and started playing his game.

Twenty minutes later he was trying to rescue the bear when he heard Ella let out a scream.

"SHE'S GONE!" Ella yelled. "Garcia's gone!" The preschooler cried in angst as she began throwing off her covers looking for her favourite stuffed animal. "MOMMY! DADDY!" She called out frantically as she sobbed.

"We'll find her sweetie," Ellie who followed her younger sister into their room pulled her into a hug, "You were probably playing with her and forgot her somewhere."

"She was napping!" Ella looked up at her older sister, "I…" She buried her face into her sister's shirt.

"What happened?" Gabby jogged into the room followed by Matt. She saw her youngest daughter and knew something wasn't right; she knelt down and was about to say something when Ella turned around and saw her.

"Mommy!" Ella flew to he mother "Garcia's gone!" She hugged her mother.

"Oh no," Gabby lifted up her daughter and held her, "Well we'll find her." She knew how important Ella's teddy bear was to her. It was what Kelly Severide had given her when she was born. He'd given all four children a stuffed animal from Build-A-Bear that Kelly had given them when they were born.

Jacob who was still in his room knew he'd be in trouble. He'd taken to long with the bear and he'd cut it. He quickly threw it under his bed before it could be found. He'd find a better hiding spot for it later.

"What's wrong?" Jacob walked out of his room, he tried to act as innocent as he could. He had to admit he hated seeing his younger sister so upset. However, he didn't want to get into trouble. He knew if his parents found out he would.

"Ella's lost Garcia," Gabby explained, "You were playing with her this morning. Do you remember where she put it?"

Jacob and Ella were playing dress-up in the morning, something he'd never admit to his friends. "No," He lied. "Andy's ride came for hockey practice and Ella went with you to pick up Ellie from her sleepover. I've been building a LEGO city.

"Alright we'll start looking downstairs," Gabby rubbed Ella's back, "We'll find her sweetie, I promise. You clean up your room Jacob and then you come and help look," Gabby instructed.

"Mom!" Jacob complained, "I'm busy playing! My city is almost the entire size of my room!"

"Don't talk back, just do it," Gabby told him. Lately Jacob had become prone to talking back and it was something she wanted to make sure didn't become a habit.

Jacob sulked as he went back into his room; he began to clean up all of his LEGO structure's he'd built.

"Wow, those are pretty complex bud," Matt leaned against the doorway. He'd always been impressed with his youngest son's keen eye and know-how for building things, "You know better then to talk to your mother like that. If you want to keep them you could have told her." Stepping into the room he saw a little bit of light brown fur sticking out of Jacob's blanket.

"Jacob!" He marched over to the bed and pulled back the blanket to reveal the bear, "Jacob Hugo Casey!" He looked at him sternly, "You're in big trouble! You stay right here and clean up this mess! I don't even know what to say to you." Matt shook his head and tried to keep hi tempter in check. He didn't like to always yell at his children, he didn't want to be anything like his father. Deciding it would be best if he left he took a deep breath, "Don't you leave his room." He ordered.

Matt took the bear and walked into the hallway. The stuffed bear had stuffing coming out of it and he knew that would make Ella upset. He wasn't sure if he should give it to her or talk to Gabby first. Since he wanted to keep his wife in the loop he put the bear in the master bedroom and went to the main floor.

Ella was lying on the floor sobbing and coughing, "Ella, sweetie please have a drink," Gabby held out her pink water bottle.

"No!" Ella pushed it away. She pushed away everything near her and continued to cry.

"Babe mind if we talk, its important," Matt said stepping up to his wife, he looked at her, hoping she'd understand she did.

"Ellie can you stay with your sister?" Gabby asked her oldest daughter as she stood up from the floor.

"Sure Mom," Ellie nodded, she went to sit down beside her younger sister,

Matt walked with Gabby into the kitchen and took a deep breath, "I found Garcia, Jacob took her to use as a hostage in a game. The whole front of her is ripped right open."

"Oh no," Gabby shook her head, "We'll I can sew her back together but I'll have to go out and get the supplies." She explained, she wasn't the best sewer, not like her mother was, but with her medical background she could do it. "What punishment are you thinking for Jacob?"

"I wish we could not have him go camping actually. I know he's been really looking forward to spending some time with K.J. But then we'd need to get someone to watch him. Maybe his first grounding? I told him I needed time to think. He didn't even seem very sorry."

"Alright," Gabby rubbed his arm up and down in an effort to calk him down. "Lets go and tell Ella we found Garcia, then we can talk to Jacob."

Matt nodded and followed his wife into the living room. Ella was sitting on the couch watching as Ellie tried to find something for them to watch on TV, "Ella sweetheart," Gabby walked to the front of the couch, "Daddy found Garcia but she's a little hurt. I'm going to go and get some things to make her all better."

"She's hurted where is she?" She asked, she reached out and tugged her mother's hand. "Need see her!"

"Alright," Gabby took her daughter's hand and took her up the stars and towards the master bedroom, Matt and Ellie following. As soon as Ella so her beloved bear she ran towards her and cried. "What happened?" She hugged the bear, "She's hurt!"

"Your brother Jacob hurt her sweetie, but don't worry he's going to be punished. Now lets go to the store and get some things so I can sew her up."

"No!" Ella shrieked, "You'll hurt her!"

"Sweetie we need to sew her back up. If we don't all of her stuffing will come out."

"No!" Ella cried, "Hospital. We go to hospital." She looked up at her parents. "They make her better."

"Sweetie," Gabby knew that her daughter loved the bear and she was her friend. "Only people can go to hospitals I-"

"I have an idea," Ellie spoke up, "And sorry for interrupting Mom," She added hoping her mother wouldn't be mad at her, "How about we make Garcia a cast Ella and we can get some Band-Aids too and after Mom sews her up we can put her cast on her and the Band-Aids. That way she can heal and recover."

"She sleep in your bed?" Ella looked up at her older sister, "To get all better?"

Ellie really hated it when Ella played in her bed or put her stuffed animals in it. She knew though that her younger sister was really upset, "Only during the day. At night she can sleep in one of your doll cribs."

Ella stood still for a second thinking the situation over, "Alright." She walked over to her sister and took her hand.

"Alright, maybe we can find old clothes we can use to make her casts," Ellie explained as she led her younger sister out of the room.

* * *

Half an hour later Ellie and Ella had gathered some so of the children's old socks and some other material. Ellie tied them together and got some pins and paper clips as well. When Gabby had come back from the store with the material to fix Garcia she sat at the dinning room table with her daughters.

"Alright Ella," Gabby looked at her daughter, "I'll stich Garcia up and then you and Ellie can put the casts and bandages on her. She's going to be all better, you'll never know that she was hurt."

Ella nodded her head, "Very mean Jacob. That wasn't nice." She declared.

Knowing her daughter was right but not wanting to cause a war Gabby said, "You're right it wasn't very nice. Mommy and Daddy are going to deal with Jacob though, you didn't have to worry about it."

"He's not worth it anyways," Ellie told her younger sister. She'd seen how upset the girl was and was furious at her brother, he knew better then to do what he did, she hoped her parents punished him for a very long time.

After Gabby had finished stitching up Garcia Ellie tied a purple silk material over her stomach and pined it together. On the bears arm she tied a sock on it. "The patient is all better." She declared handing her over to Ella.

Ella carefully took her bear and placed her in the stroller she had. She put a blanket on her and reached down to give the bear a kiss. "Thank you Ellie!" She hugged her older sister and kissed her.

"It was fun. I like playing doctor, I need practice since I'm going to be one." She wanted to learn how to sew and all about medical procedures.

"Lets take care of all of my toys!" Ella declared, "That's fun!" She loved spending time with her older sister and was delighted that she wanted to spend time with her too.

"I'd love to but I have homework to do," Ellie replied honestly. "We can play later, I promise."

Ella pouted but climbed off the chair and pushed the stroller away anyways. Going into the family room she frowned as she saw Jacob. "You meanie!" You ran towards him and began punching him, "Say sorry!"

Jacob easily shrugged off his baby sister, "Stop it!" He frowned, he didn't want to hurt her but if she kept punching him he would.

"You hurted Garcia!"

"It doesn't have feelings," Jacob exclaimed, he shoved past her and she plopped to the ground.

"Yes she does!" Ella yelled, her voice getting louder.

"Hey, hey enough!" Matt walked into the room, "No more fighting. Jacob you don't want to get into any more trouble, leave your sister alone." And Ella Jacob's busy right now. Go and play somewhere else."

Deciding that having someone watch him the following weekend when they went camping would be unfair, Matt and Gabby made a list of extra chores for Jacob to do around the house. He was currently sorting out toys, toys that were still played with and ones that weren't.

Ella left with her father and ended up in the kitchen colouring. When Andy came home from hockey practice he was sent straight to do his homework.

"Mommy, Daddy," Ella looked up from her colouring book and to her parents who were making dinner, "I hate homework. I want to play."

Gabby offered her daughter a little chuckle, she could understand why she hated homework, it must seem to her that was what her older siblings always seemed to be doing, especially when she wanted to play.

"I know it always seems like that sweetie. Homework is important though and when you get to big school you'll have some too. Hopefully Ellie will be able to play with you soon. Is that who you want to play with?"

"Uh-huh," Ella nodded, "I maded her a card." She picked up the picture and showed it to her mother proudly, "I give it to her?"

"Well dinner's almost ready, lets go and get her and then you both can set the table." Gabby whipped her hands on a cloath and walked out from the counter area of the kitchen.

"Ellie! Ellie! Ellie!" She ran ahead of her mother and up the stairs, almost loosing her balance a few times she managed to get to her bedroom. "Ellie!" She ran to her older sister desk and shoved the paper in front of her. "This is for you!"

Ellie was frustrated with her math homeowork and didn't have time for her younger sister, she was about to yell when she saw her younger sister's face. She looked so happy and proud of herself; she didn't have the heart to yell at her.

"Thank you Ella," She reached down to give her a quick hug. "Now I'm trying to homework."

"Come set the table for dinner Ellie, I'll help you with your math homework after alright?" Gabby explained stepping foot into the girl's bedroom.

"Okay Mom," Ellie was glad to get away from the work. "But first," She took the picture Ella had given her and pinned it to her corkboard, "There you go Ella, now everyone can see it."

Ella beamed up at her older sister and hugged her, "I'll make you lots more!" She released her hug and ran back downstairs.

"You were really good with her today," Gabby praised her daughter as the walked out of the room, "Both your father and I were really impressed, you know you're really growing up, you're such a good leader."

"Thank you," Ellie smiled, "She's not that bad most of the time, I still want my own room though." Ellie informed her

"Well for now you're sharing one. Maybe in a few years we can renovate the basement and add a bedroom and washroom down here for Andy.

"Okay."

 **TBC**


	31. Antonio's 50th Birthday Party

**A\N:** This is one of the rare one-shots in the series that won't focus solely on Gabby, Matt and their children. Instead it's going to focus on Antonio, Laura, Eva and Diego and Eva and Diego's families. For this one-shot I owe a huge thank-you to my virtual older sister on Twitter who not only helped me come up with the idea but helped me brainstorm, wrote the flashback scene and read over other scenes as well. She loves this series and without her help with one-shot would not have been at all possible.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

 **Spoilers:** Chicago PD's 1.01 "Stepping Stone" and 1.02 "Wrong Side of the Bars"

 **Warnings:** None

* * *

 **50** **th** **Birthday Party**

 **Mid June**

Megan looked nervously at Diego as they made the way up the steps of his childhood home. They'd been dating for six months but due to their crazy work schedules she hadn't yet met his parents. She was nervous enough as it was but one look down at her one and a half year old made her even more nervous.

"You'll be fine," Diego squeezed her hand in assurance, "I told them all about you. They're going to love you, and Lucas is going to get spoiled. They bought him some new toys so he'd have some to play with."

At a word he knew Lucas smiled and clapped his hands together in anticipation.

"See, everything is going to be fine," Diego knocked on the door.

Today was Antonio's 50th birthday party, it was going to be a big BBQ with around fifty people in attendance, Wanting Megan and Lucas to be introduced in a quitter setting he was bring them around a few hours before most people would be arriving. He knew by his sister's car, she and her boyfriend were already here along with his two-week-old niece Anna.

"Diego," Laura opened the door and hugged her son. She kissed him on the cheek and stepped aside so he and Megan could come into the house, "And this must be Megan and Lucas. We've heard so much about you."

"It's very nice to meet you Mrs. Dawson. I brought some lemon mirange tarts, although Diego's brought me some treats from you bakery, these aren't anything like those. Lucas goes nuts for your peanut butter an chocolate cupcakes."

"It's Laura and I'm sure these are delicious," Laura took the tray. She looked at Lucas, snuggled into Megan's arms. The boy had slight wavy brown hair, like Megan's.

"Everyone's in the living room," She led them into the room, "We have some toys for Lucas. I hope that's alright."

"It wasn't necessary but I'm sure Lucas won't complain," Megan set the toddler on the ground. He looked up at his mother a slight frown on his face, unhappy at first to be put down in a strange place. He saw Diego walk over to Eva and toddled over. He wanted to see what was in the blanket so he tugged on Diego's leg.

"This is Anna," Diego picked him up, "She's a small baby so you need to be very gentle." Lucas peered at the baby who was fast asleep; he touched her face and was startled when she started to cry.

"No, no Lucas," Diego put him down.

"It's alright. She needs to be fed anyways," She explained, "You can hold her after alright Diego. Now are you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?" She sighed shaking her head.

"Oh right," He'd been distracted with Lucas, "Dad, Eva, Shane this is my girlfriend Megan and the little monkey on the floor is her one and a half year old son Lucas."

"Very nice to meet you Megan," Eva smiled, "Come and sit over here and I can tell you embarrassing stories about Diego."

"Eva!" Diego glared at his older sister.

"I can't wait," Megan laughed,

"Smart kid," Antonio chuckled as he saw Lucas crawl right over to a toy police car. Lucas pushed it away and crawled after it to get it. Then realized neither his mother nor Diego was anywhere nearby he cried in protest.

"Oh you know you're not usually this shy," Megan shook her head, she walled over to get her son and kissed him, "Here take this, you'll get bored soon," She handed him the car. Lucas watched in interest as Eva fed Anna.

"He's never seen a baby before, not up close," Megan explained her son's curiosity, "I don't have much family and my neighbour that watches him only has older kids. I'm not sure what he'll do around Anna."

Lucas reached out to tug at Anna's hand and the infant cried spitting up.

"Lucas, be gentle!" Megan schooled, "Anna's a small baby."

"Bab!" Lucas repeated.

"Yes, you need to be gentle," She put him back on the ground much to his frustration.

"If he does better with older kids he's in for a treat later. My sister and brother in-law have four kids. Thirteen, ten, seven and three." Antonio told Megan, "And my colleagues that are coming, some of them have children as well. Anna and Lucas are the youngest by a few years."

"He'll do better with older kids," Megan nodded, "I'm really sorry Eva," Megan realized she probably should have exposed Lucas to more things.

"It's alright," Shane told her.

"Well I'm going to go put these away," Laura said of the tarts Megan had given her.

'I'll help you," Megan offered, she knew that Laura would probably like a chance to talk to her privately at if she was being honest shed like that as well. Although she was nervous to talk privately to Diego's mother she could only hope it would go over well.

Lucas toddled off after Megan crying fake tears and screaming. Normally Megan didn't like to give in to him but she knew he was stressed out. She looked at Diego who was talking to his father and caught his eye.

"Come over here buddy," Diego walked towards the boy and picked him up, "I'll play with you. Do you want to build a tower?" He walked over to the blocks in the corner of the room.

Megan walked with Laura into the beautiful and modern kitchen, "This is beautiful." She complimented.

"Thank you," Laura put away the tarts and turned to look at her, "Diego tells us you're a nurse. He says you met when he was trying to see an informant."

"Yeah," Megan nodded, "His informant was in surgery and I had to calk him down. I think he was angry with me for a bit but two days later he came an asked me out. He's great with Lucas," She grinned, "I didn't introduce them right away but as soon as Diego found out I had a son he was genuinely excited about it."

"Diego's always been good with kids, very kind young man," Laura spoke of her son, "He had a few rough years as a child," She wasn't sure if Diego had divulged to her that he'd been kidnaped when he was eight year olds, "But he managed to pull through. He's so much like his father, has really strong moral vales. But he needs a good woman to keep him in line, he can be a bit stubborn and he gets caught up to much in his work. I'm glad he's been spending more time with you and Lucas on his days off then working."

"I really like your son, and I know Lucas does as well. His father didn't want anything to do with him, or me once I told him I was pregnant," She had no problem speaking of her college boyfriend, "Signed away all rights to me before Lucas was born. I was really protective of my heart after that but Diego has been great, really patient and caring. He's so good with Lucas too," She couldn't say that enough, she was so amazed at how truly natural her boyfriend was with kids.

"I can understand, being a single mom, that's brave. I don't have any experience quite like you but Antonio was a Marine when we were engaged and first married and he missed bits and pieces of Diego and Eva's lives working undercover in Vice. But raising a child completely on your own working the ours you do," She shook her head, "That takes guts and I think Diego could really learn a lot from you."

"Lucas! Lucas!" Diego's frantic call of her son's name caused Megan to rush into the room, Lucas had managed to climb up to the window ledge and was attempting to climb up.

"Lucas that's dangerous," Diego took the squirmy toddler, "I turned my back for one second," He shook his head,

"Gah!" Lucas wanted to go free. He swung his legs and wiggled his body until Diego had no choice but to put him down. He crawled around happily and went to Megan.

"You don't climb inside," Megan looked at him, "You want to run around, maybe Mommy should ask if she can take you to the park."

"You know what," Eva spoke up, "That's a great idea, I'll come too and bring Anna along. We can talk and hopefully Anna and Lucas will both stop being fussy."

"Sure," Megan took Lucas into her arms.

"I'll go and get his stroller," Diego got up and grabbed his car keys out of his pocket.

* * *

Two hours later, after putting on fairy lights on the porch and near the pool the party was ready to start. Laura and Megan had poured some snacks into bowls for the guests and there were lots of drinks too.

Eva and Shane were sitting on the table on the deck with Anna asleep in a car seat on the ground beside them. Diego and Megan were sitting in lawn chairs well Lucas stumbled on the uneven service of the grass.

Walking out from the kitchen Antonio wasn't sure he liked what he saw, growing up Diego and Eva had always been very close, sharing a special bond quite similar to the one he and Gabby shared. He told himself that his son wasn't angry or hurt with his older sister; he spent a few hours with her holding Anna. He supposed that he wanted Lucas to not bother Anna as she slept.

"Here buddy," Antonio carried the toy police car over to Lucas, he knelt down and offered it to him, "If you push this button it makes a sound," He proceeded to demonstrate.

Lucas took the toy but crawled away back to Diego and Megan, he put the toy on the ground and hid behind Diego, only partly peaking out as Antonio approached.

"He can sometimes be a little shy," Diego informed his father, "Lucas you know my Daddy is a police officer just like me. He has a big office with a big chair."

Lucas stepped away from Diego and looked up at Antonio with some interest.

"You know maybe if your Mommy says its okay you can come to my office and sit in my chair one way. But for now why don't I play with you." Antonio offered.

In response Lucas held up his arms and Antonio picked him up as well as the toy police car. He sat with the boy on the ground and showed him how to make the siren noise. Lucas seemed interested. However after pushing the button five times he stood up and gave Antonio as cheeky smile before running away.

"Hey you!" Diego was quick to run after him and easily caught the toddler, he brought him into his arms and tickled him, "You're a real problem, always running away."

"Deo!" Lucas laughed happily.

Antonio walked up to the pair and looked at Diego, he had never been so proud of his son. What he was doing, the comment he'd made to Megan and Lucas wasn't an easy one but Antonio had a strong feeling it would last. Diego wouldn't have put this much interest in the boy and loved him so much if he didn't love Megan just as much.

"I'm really proud of you Diego," Antonio patted his son on the shoulder.

"Thanks Dad, that really means a lot," Diego spoke honestly. Growing up all he'd ever wanted was to be like his father, do everything like him. Knowing his father respected him meant the world to him.

Recently he'd been thinking about how Megan's boyfriend abandoned her and it made him sick to his stomach and red with anger. If he ever laid eyes on the scum he'd give him a piece of his mind. He could never, ever imagine doing something like that. He cared deeply about Megan and Lucas and didn't ever want to di anything to hurt them.

"How about we go out to my car, I have a real siren that Lucas can put the lights on. What do you say?"

Lucas practically leaped into Antonio's arms; looking at him he clapped enthusiastically.

"Well alright then," Antonio carried him out towards the front of the house and to his car. He unlocked it and placed Lucas in the drivers seat. The toddler began pushing all of the buttons, Antonio watching carefully making sure he didn't accidently start the car. The SUV didn't have a key; rather a key fob and Antonio had to make sure that Lucas didn't push the button that turned the engine on.

"Here press this," Antonio lifted Lucas up so he could light up the siren, the toddler did and in the process his face lit up with happiness. Diego was lucky enough to snap a few pictures. As Lucas was about to push the button again Gabby, Matt and their kids walked towards them and Lucas climbed down to investigate.

Gabby walked to her brother and hugged him, "Happy Birthday. You're officially old." She joked good-naturedly.

"Ha-ha," He laughed, "And I said no gifts," He looked at the multiple gifts the family were carrying.

"I've never listned to you why should I start," She shrugged. "Diego," She smiled at her nephew who was now holding Lucas again, "And I'm guessing this is Lucas."

"Yeah. Aunt Gabby, Uncle Matt, Andy, Ellie, Jacob, Ella," He rattled off list of names, "This is my girlfriend's son Lucas. Lucas say hi."

Lucas half waved before looking curiously at Andy, he reached for him, happy that the old boy didn't pull away.

"Hey kid. You want to come and hang out with me. It'll be nice if you did. Then I can get away from Ellie annoying me. You're lucky you don't have any sisters."

"Shut up Andrew!" Ellie glared at her older brother, he frowned and she loved how using his full name got him so mad.

"That's enough!" Matt warned, "Both of you take some time to calm down."

"You can take Lucas if you want Andy but be careful, he's sneaky, he can run away. Just make sure you watch him carefully." Diego told his cousin.

"I will," Andy took the toddler into his arms, "Come on Jake, lets go and teach him how to play soccer."

"I come too." Ella ran to follow her older brothers, "Lucas is cute." She smiled as she looked up at the toddler in her older brother's arms, "I want a baby brother now," She decided.

Hearing her daughter's wish Gabby chuckled. She was almost forty and she and Matt did not want any more children. There were many reasons, the most important being financial and time, they hardly ahd any quality time with their four children they had, having another child would not be a smart decision.

"I want to hold Anna," Ellie said as she followed her parents, uncle and cousin back into the backyard. She was happy to see her two week old cousin was up now and being held by Eva. "Eva can I hold her?" Ellie sat in a chair.

"Sure you can. You know I was just thinking how it only seems like yesterday that Shane and I met," She looked at Matt and grinned, "Do you remember that?"

Matt sat down beside Shane giving the younger man a smile, "Of course I do."

* * *

 **Three Years Earlier:**

 _Matt had been working on a big contracting job for the past few weeks but today had been a problem in the Casey household. Gabby had taken an odd shift at 51 on top of her teaching classes at college and Eva Dawson had been left to babysit the kids. Baby Ella was already down for her morning nap and all three other kids were able to play together without too much bickering. Eva was always happy to help out with her aunt and uncle's kids whenever she could so she had jumped at the opportunity when asked by Gabby the previous week._

 _An hour later, Ella's wailing came moments after Eva heard a loud bang coming from the first floor and her feet carried her all the way up to the little girl's room. She picked her and bounced her in her arms trying to console her but not much was working. She changed her diaper under some loud crying, the volume only increasing. When she was freshly changed, she took her in her arms again and tried another approach. She sang her favourite Spanish lullaby and still nothing changed._

 _"Maybe you know something that could help." Eva asked Andy as he appeared in the doorframe._

 _"The only that soothes her when she gets like this is dad."_

 _"Yeah but Matt's working. There's really no other way?" She sighed._

 _"Sorry Eva, even mom can't get her to calm down when she's like this."_

 _"Ok, let's go for a ride." She started walking out of the room followed by Andy on her heels. "Get everyone ready to go please." All three other kids were old enough to get themselves ready but Jacob decided that he was being difficult as well._

 _"Cut it out Jacob." Andy tried to reprimand him. "We have to go see dad." But Jacob was having nothing of it._

 _"If you don't get dressed right now Jacob, you're going to have to explain yourself to your dad. I doubt you want that right?" Eva spoke sternly to her cousin. Jacob paused a few seconds before he got his jacket on. "That's what I thought. Come on, everyone in the car." All three older kids buckled themselves in and Eva struggle a little bit with a very uncooperative Ella but once everyone was settled in, she drove towards the address Gabby had given her just in case._

 _The drive was short but when she put the car into park, Eva was more than happy to get the fresh air. She started walking with the three older kids in tow but it took two seconds for both Ellie and Jacob to be excited about being at their dad's work place that they started moving around Eva._

 _"Guys, stay close to me, I don't want you to get hurt." She tried to keep an eye on all three kids as she walked, a still inconsolable Ella in her arms but she lost track of Jacob. As she looked behind herself to get eyes on him, she wasn't looking where she was going and she walked straight into someone._

 _When she thought that she was going to hit the ground, her body curling in an attempt to protect Ella, two hands held her steady. "Are you ok?" She looked up and came face to face with Crystal clear green eyes._

 _"I think so." She couldn't take her eyes off the stranger in front of her. She blinked and suddenly came back to reality. "Ella, sweetie, are you ok?" She looked her over to make sure everything was ok except for her screams._

 _"Eva, what are you guys doing here?" Eva suddenly looked over the man's shoulder to see Matt walking towards them, Jacob firmly in his grip._

 _"Ella fell down her crib and she won't stop crying. I looked her over but I can't see anything wrong. Andy said you're the only one who can help when she get's like this."_

 _"Come see Daddy baby girl." He gently scooped her up in his arms and she laid her head against his shoulder, Matt rubbing small soothing circles on her back._

 _"I tried that." Eva grunted. "She wouldn't stop."_

 _"What can I say, she's Daddy's girl." He pressed a kiss to her forehead._

 _"I'm sorry." Matt suddenly realized that someone was standing next to him. "Shane, this is my wife's niece Eva." Shane extended his hand and Eva shyly accepted it, the pull to his eyes over her again. "Shane has been working with me on this job."_

 _"It's nice to meet you Eva."_

 _"Likewise." They couldn't see it yet but Matt saw it as clear as day. These two were falling in love at first sight._

* * *

"Alright," Laura spoke into the microphone it was nearly ten o'clock, the night coming to a close but the family had one more surprise for Antonio, "Now my husband has been bugging me all night long what the projector and screen were for and to explain here's our niece Ellie.

Ellie stepped forward and took the microphone, she loved speaking in public and loved attention even more, "A few months ago I had an idea for a really good surprise for my Uncle's 50th birthday. The whole family helped me put this together and I really hope you all like it," She turned to her lap top computer and pressed play. A video emerged on the screen of Antonio was a young baby as a song started to play, throughout the song different video clips played ranging from Antonio's childhood to the first pictures taken of Anna after she was born. Most of the important milestones were covered, birthdays, weddings, graduations and thrown in were lots of videos of Gabby and Antonio playing together or Eva and Diego playing together.

While he watched the video Antonio began to cry, it was beautiful put together and he couldn't ask for a better present. When the video had ended he stood up and walked to Ellie and hugged her, he looked at the microphone and said, "This was truly beautiful," He whipped tears away from his eyes, "Thank you to everyone who helped with this. I really loved it.

"Then you'll love this," Ellie handed him a CD, "We put it on a CD for you."

Antonio took the CD and hugged Ellie again. "Thank you."

Laura walked over to him and kissed him on the lips, "Happy Birthday Babe."

 **TBC**


	32. The Audition

**A\N:** This one-shot was a calibration with with my best friend friend on Twitter and myself. She helped me brainstorm it, helped me research it and let me use a certain name and character inspiration in it. So that being said this is dedicated to her and the real life people she knows who help inspire the series. I love you all.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

 **Spoilers:** None

 **Warinings:** None

* * *

 **The Audition**

"When is Ellie going to come out?" Ella asked as she rubbed her eyes, placing her head on Matt's shoulder. It had been half an hour since the school play had ended and she was tired.

"Hopefully soon," Gabby hoped her daughter wouldn't attempt to try and take off all of her make-up at once. She could do that over the weekend or the next morning. "If she's not out soon I'll go and get her."

Ellie was playing the Cat in the Hat in the St. Mark's Elementary school production of Seussical the Musical Jr. Since it was a lead part she'd been on stage almost the entire time and had many solo speaking roles and singing parts. Most of her family were coming to see her on the two Friday's the show was running and she loved being the centre of attention.

"Gabby, Matt," A parent of another child in the play approached them, a woman with her, "Ellie was just outstanding. I didn't know she had that kind of voice." She had high praise for the ten year old, "She just shined on the stage."

"Thanks Marie," Gabby grinned. She had thought Ellie had done a fantastic job but then she was biased. It always made her feel very good when someone else praised her children.

"This is my mother Lindsay," She turned to her sister, "She works for McEwen's productions. She's a casting agent."

Matt and Gabby shared a look with each other, they were both thinking the same thing, and were both shocked that it ahd happened. Sure Ellie was talented but they didn't think she was ready, or emotionally mature enough to be a professional actor. Gabby looked at Andy and Jacob who were playing on Andy's IPad agansit the wall, out of earshot and then at Ella, who thankfully was to tired to comprehend anything that would be said.

"Hi," Lindsay outstretched her hand to shale Matt and Gabby's, "First of all I'd like to start out by saying that I've seen many talented children over the years I've been working. Your daughter is gifted, what she has you cannot teach, and I'm not just saying that. You go to any casting agent in any city and they'll tell you the same thing. She has talent that could get here far. There are auditions for our revival of The Sound of Music next week, the spots are filled already but if you call me I can get her an audition. It'll be for a children's chores role but it's a foot in the door."

"We'll talk it over," Matt smiled and took the card. Before he and Gabby told Ellie about this they needed to have a long talk about it and do some research. Before they committed to anything they needed to know how much of a commitment it would be if she did get a part. Also, since the chances of her getting a part were very slim they needed to see if she'd be able to respond to the rejection and how she'd take it. Ellie wasn't used to rejection and hated to loose so this knock would hurt her.

"Mom, Dad," Ellie walked towards her parents smiling, she still had a little make-up on but had changed out of her costume. She was wearing leggings and a dark blue t-shirt and was carrying a duffel bag as well as her school backpack as she'd stayed at school for the show instead of taking the bus home.

"You were great honey," Gabby kissed her on the cheek. "Everyone thought so. It was so nice to see you having such a good time out there."

"Yeah, I loved it," Ellie grinned, "It was great, learning my lines, singing, I love to sing and I love being good at it."

"Ellie," Ella looked at her older sister, "You looked like you played with Mommy's make-up. You're in big trouble mister," She waved a winger at her sister.

"Ella!" Ellie groaned out in frustration, "Stop quoting Full House, it isn't funny or cute anymore."

Worried about how the shows Ellie was watching were affecting her Gabby and Matt had tried to get her into some shows that were more age appropriate. Growing up Gabby had liked Full House so they started there. Ellie liked the show and loved the sequel Fuller House but Ella was simply obsessed with both. She'd watched some episodes so many times she knew some of the lines and was choosing to watch it over her other favourite show Paw Patrol's.

"Alright," Gabby looked over to her son's, "Come on boys its time to go. Come and tell your sister you enjoyed the play."

"But I really didn't," Andy pointed out. "Although I did appreciate how silly Ellie looked in that costume."

Ellie glared and rolled her eyes at her older brother. She was smarter then he was and knew how to trap him "I was supposed to look silly so I'll take that as a compliment." She smirked as he sighed.

"Alright you two its to late for this," Matt warned, he could see Ella was beginning to get cranky in his arms and he figured Jacob must be getting tired as well. The eight year old was usually in bed by now.

* * *

"Kids are all asleep," Matt informed his wife as he walked into their bedroom and shut the door. He took off his shirt and then reached into his pocket and pulled out the business card they'd been given, "Professional?" He sighed and shook his head, "I know she'll want to do this and I can't see her get hurt. There are a lot of talented kids in this city; some will probably come from New York too. There are kids that have been performing since they could talk. She's a little behind," He looked at Gabby to see if he could tell what her reaction would be. He knew her very well and could usually tell what she was thinking but not this time.

"I need to do some more research on this," Gabby wasn't going to make any decisions until she found out more, "Although I think she's already to grown-up for her age. I don't think this'll help any. You know how I feel about the amount of make-up she wears in her dance competitions and recitals." Gabby wasn't the 'stage mother' type and she wasn't very found of her ten year old daughter dressing up and looking like she was sixteen on and off the stage. Ellie was very much like she was at her age. Already getting into a rebellious teen mode. Gabby knew it would only get worse as Ellie got older, she didn't think exposing her to this world would make that any better.

"We'll both do some research," Matt finished getting changed and climbed into bed, "I have shift in the morning so if you want I'll get Ella up and get her breakfast. She's going to be excited about her play date tomorrow with Damien, so she'll be up even earlier then she usually is. That'll give you some time to sleep in. You're going to have a busy day tomorrow."

Gabby leaned over and kissed Matt on the lips, "Thanks Babe." She snuggled into his side and closed her eyes.

* * *

"He's here! He's here!" Ella ran excitedly to the door as the doorbell rang, she jumped up and down on the balls of her feet as she impatiently waited for her mother to open the door, "Hurry up Mommy!" Ella couldn't wait any longer.

"Hold on sweetie," Gabby chuckled. She'd first met Damien's mother not at daycare, but at Chicago Med where she worked as a nurse. One shift when Gabby was covering for Brett she was filling out paperwork, she and Allison started talking and found out their children went to the same daycare and school. Although her older daughter Aisha was in Senior Kindergarten and younger then Jacob.

"Damien!" Ella pulled her best friend inside the house as soon as the door was opened; the boy seemed a little alarmed at first but smiled at his friend and hugged her back, "Ella!"

"Let's go play," Ella watched him take off his shoes, "Mommy can we watch Paw Patrols?" She looked up at Gabby and asked, "Did you bring Marshall?" She asked Damien.

Damien pointed to the backpack his mother was carrying, "Mommy can I have Marshall?"

"Please," Allison prompted.

"Please." Damien repeated. His mother then opened the bag and gave him his favourite toy.

"I have Skye in the TV room," Ella explained. "We can sit with them and watch." Damien's favourite charter in the popular show was the Dalmatian firedog Marshall, and although it would make sense for Ella to also like Marshall considering what her parents did for a living she preferred the female pilot puppy Skye. She would fly the stuffed version of the character around the house and she loved looking up to see planes in the air and was also curious as her uncle Antonio and cousin Diego spoke about their time in the Marines and how the saw fighter jets.

"Bye Mommy!" Damien blew a kiss to his mother and ran off with Ella to play and watch TV.

"Bye honey!" Allison yelled out, then turning to Gabby she said, "He's not totally potty-trained yet. He's in pull-ups; he goes pee on the toilet for the most part. I packed him extra clothes and pull-ups. I just changed him before we left home so hopefully you don't have to change him to many times."

"Oh don't worry about it. Ella still has accidents sometimes too. She was really fast to potty train; my husband and I were surprised, although it could be partly because she wanted to be like her older siblings. She worships my older daughter Ellie."

Just at that moment Ellie walked into the hallway and frowned, "Mom, please tell me I don't have to watch that baby show all day. Jacob's playing downstairs and I can't watch TV down there either."

"Elizabeth, say hi to Mrs. Moreau. She's Damien's mother. And to answer out question it's a beautiful day outside why don't you go for a walk or ride your bike. Your brother Andy is out with his friends.

"I'll just go and watch Netflicks on the IPad," Ellie decided. "Hi Mrs. Moreau she greeted the woman as she passed her on the way up the stairs."

"You're not going to watch NetFlick's all day!" Gabby yelled up to her, "You have an hour, then you're going outside!"

"Alright," Ellie waved down to her mother.

"Did you want come in for some coffee?" Gabby asked Alison turning back to the other woman.

"No, sorry I wish I could but I have to get Aisha to her gymnastics class. Maybe when I pick Damien up at noon we could talk for a bit."

"Sounds good," Gabby waved as the other woman turned to walk back to her car.

* * *

For most of the afternoon Ella and Damien played well together, after watching Paw Patrol they played with their Paw Patrol toys and then with some LEGO's. Ellie watched them as the played in the backyard leaving Gabby just enough time to do some research on professional acting before getting lunch ready.

If Ellie were to get the part in the Musical she'd need to quit school (the company would provide tutors for all of the children) and quit all other activities. The shows were put on every night except Monday's and the run could last for two years. She'd be paid close to nine hundred dollars a week which Gabby knew woukd be good to put away in a saving's account for her when she was older. All of this however was dependent on if she got the role or not, She and Matt needed to talk to Ellie and explain that this was serious and she needed to decide what she wanted to do like a mature young woman.

"Mom, Dad," Ellie looked between her parents, a sense a fear on her face. It was Sunday after lunch and her parents had set her brothers and sister outside to play leaving just the three of them in the kitchen, "I'm I in trouble?" She tried to think of something she did. She couldn't think of anything.

"No, no," Gabby assured her. "No this is something else. After your performance on Friday night a woman with the McEwen's production company; she's a casting agent and she gave your father and I her card. She thinks you have a chance at getting into the children's chores of the version of the Sound of Music they're doing. Now, I know this sounds exiting but your father and I did some research and you have to understand there's a good change you won't get in. If you do this'll become your life, no more dance or gymnastics or going to sleep overs. You'll have to quit school and have a tour at the theatre where you'll spend over ten hours a day. The show could run for three years. We talked it over and we think that since you're old enough now you can make your own decision but you think about it a lot. Go upstairs and take all the time you need. Do you have any questions?"

"I wan to do it," Ellie told her parents confidently, "I'd love to be a professional singer and actress. And if I don't get the role I'll be sad but I think I can handle it."

Gabby and Matt wouldn't; so sure that she could, "Honey, if you don't get the part it'll hurt like nothing you've ever experienced before. We're being honest there's a good chance you won't get it." Matt explained to her, "You know how upset you were when you didn't make the competitive dance team last year? Well this will be way worse. And if you get into a life of processional acting it'll become a 24-hour thing. That's something we need to all think of."

"But Dad I'm good. I'm really good! And she said I have a good chance and she helps makes the decisions I bet." Matt and Gabby didn't know how to answer that, as they were unsure themselves, "I love the Sound of Music and I'll make all kinds of new friends. This is an experience I don't want to turn down. I'm sure."

"Alright," Matt sighed, "I'll call this woman, her names Lindsay Manning, I'll call Mrs. Manning tomorrow."

"Yay!" Ellie happily jumped up and cheered, "I can't wait until my audition. I wonder what it'll be like or what I have to do. This is so cool."

"Well for now go outside and play with your brothers and sister," Gabby instructed her, "But don't tell them about this, let your father and I do that." She knew they'd be upset and jealous, especially Andy who was most able to understand what all of this meant.

"Fine," Ellie unhappily agreed.

* * *

Just like Lindsay said she would she was able to get Ellie an audition, on Thursday at three o'clock. Not having much time to prepare a song, dance and a monologue, Gabby and Matt were able to get an extra lesson with her singer teacher who helped her with her song and was able to call in one of the acting coaches to instruct her on her monologue.

She was sitting in an office with other children, both older and younger then she was. They all had proper headshots and acting resumes and she was beginning to think maybe this wasn't a good idea. All she had was a printed out picture for a headshot. She looked at her mother.

"Mom, maybe this wasn't a good idea. There all so professional."

Gabby had expected this but she knew now that Ellie needed to follow through on her decision, which was something she needed to learn. She couldn't go though life committing to things and then pulling out when she was nervous or unsure.

The door to the audition room opened and a boy walked out along with a woman. The woman looked down at her list and the back up, "Elizabeth Casey." She called out looking into the waiting room.

Ellie's stomach dropped. Why did she have to be next? She didn't want to do this, "It'll be okay Ellie," Gabby gave her daughter's hand a reassuring squeeze as he stood up and walked towards the woman,

"I'm Elizabeth Casey," She hardly ever used to her full name and it felt so weird to her to say it.

"Come in here," The woman led her into the room. Inside the room were Lindsay, who gave her a small smile and two other men. "Give them your resume and give me the song you're going to dance too."

Ellie handed over the CD and then walked slowly into the room.

"This is the girl I was telling you about," Lindsay spoke, "Ellie this is William Davidson, he's the Director and Liam Hindelstoon, he's the producer."

"Hi," Ellie said nervously, she walked over to the table and handed over her resume and picture.

"Alright," William looked down at the picture and then back at Ellie, "Lets start with your song."

Ellie's audition took twenty minutes and when she was finished William and Liam looked at each other and seemed to silently agree on something.

"Who's with you here today Ellie?" William asked.

"My Mom."

"Go and get her and then come back. We want to talk to her and you."

"Yes Sir," Ellie nodded and left to do what she was told, she walked back out into the waiting room and towards Gabby "Mom they want to see you."

"Alright," Gabby stood up with her purse and followed Ellie back into the room.

"Mrs. Casey," William stuck out her hand, "I'm William Davidson I'm going to be Directing the play, this is Liam Hindelston, he's the Producer and I believe you already know Lindsay, she's the Director in charge of casting."

"Its nice to meet you," Gabby shook William and Liam's hands.

"We've heard a lot of children's auditions today and by far your daughters was the best one. Because of that we can't give her a role in the children's chores. What we'd like to do is to have her come back tomorrow morning and audition for the role of Brigitta Von Trapp. She's just what we're looking for." William told her.

"That's a lead role?" Gabby clarified, "Would that be much more work then a children's chores role?"

"Yes. But she has the talent to do it and we know that this is her first major role and we'd be more then happy to give her extra support."

Gabby wished she could talk it over with Matt but knew they needed a decision right away, he looked at Ellie who was smiling widely and almost bursting, "We'll see you tomorrow morning then."

"Yes!" Ellie cheered and hugged her mother.

"She can do the same monologue and song and dance she did for us today," William explained, "Be here at eight o'clock."

"We will be," Gabby told them.

They hadn't even gotten to the elevators before Ellie turned to Gabby, "Can I call Dad at work and tell him?"

"I'm sure he'd love that," Gabby handed her daughter her cell phone.

* * *

Ellie and Gabby walked into the room again the following morning and saw there were less children then before. All of these children were around Ellie's age and Ellie hoped they weren't all auditioning for Brigitta.

She looked around the room to find a place to sit. The only seats available were beside another girl and her mother. Sitting down Ellie looked briefly at the girl who looked back at her,

"Hi," She smiled.

"Hi," The girl responded, "Are you auditioning for Louisa?" She asked, hoping that the answer was no.

"No, I'm auditioning for Brigittia. My names Ellie."

"Lucy." The girl smiled, turning to look fully at Ellie. "Good luck."

"Thanks. You too."

Lucy got called in before Ellie did and left the room with a copy of what appear to be a script. Ellie quickly learnt that those that left with a script received a callback for the afternoon and were sent to room to practice their lines.

When younger children were coming into the room Ellie got called into the audition room. She re-did her audition from the previous day and when she was done she was immediately handed a script.

"Mom!" Ellie rushed out to see Gabby in the waiting area, "I have to stay until three. I need to learn the highlighted lines. Lets go find a room to practice in."

Gabby was happy fir her daughter, she could se she was thrilled. "That's great sweetie. Lets go find a room and then I'll call your school and your father." She led her daughter rout of the room. The rooms they could use to practice were marked. Ellie entered one of the first ones they saw to see Lucy.

"You got a script," Lucy looked up from her chair and grinned, "What line do you need to learn?"

"I haven't looked at it yet," Ellie admitted.

"Come on in. I'm Helen, Lucy's mother."

"Gabby," She smiled warmly. "Thanks." She and Ellie entered and she closed the door.

"I'll help you find your lines and then maybe we can help each other practice," Lucy suggested.

"Okay," Ellie smiled, they sat down and looked at Ellie's script and saw her line she needed to memorize.

* * *

 **Three Days Later:**

Gabby was finally sitting down to check her email after a very hectic day. She'd taught three classes at the college she worked at, Andy had soccer, Ellie ballet, and in between her oldest kids activities she'd rushed to pick up Ella from daycare. Now it was nine o'clock, the younger kids were sound asleep and she was sitting down half watching the news.

She didn't see the email at first, scrolling past it, but then she stopped. Her stomach dropped as she realized when she opened it Ellie's life would change one way or another. She knew she should go and get her daughter, who'd been waiting and asking about the expected email. They were told that either way they'd get an email, if Ellie had gotten the role as Brigitta or if she hadn't they know one way or anther. One part of Gabby wanted to go and get her daughter, let her open the email but if it were bad news, she would never forgive herself. She decided it would be better if she opened it first, she'd never promised Ellie she'd be able to open it.

She read the email and then read it again. Ellie had gotten the role and the content of the email entailed detailed itinerary of Ellie's summer along with bolded key dates and a calendar. First up was the first cast meeting scheduled for the following day and then they got right into rehearsals. Gabby read the names of the others who'd been listed as the leads in the play and was happy to see that the girl Ellie had met at the auditioned had gotten the part.

Gabby knew Ellie deserved to know now so she put her laptop on the table and walked up the stairs, she quietly entered her daughter's room and walked silently towards Ellie. She motioned for her to come out of the room, not wanting wake up Ella, who was a light sleeper.

Ellie stood up but it was too late, Ella had opened her eyes. "Mommy."

"Go back to sleep sweetie," Gabby encouraged, "I just need to talk to Ellie."

Ella mumbled sleepily and hugged her Skye stuffed dog and closed her eyes.

Gabby led Ellie into the master bedroom, "I got the email and you got the role." She told her daughter not wanting to wait any longer.

"I did!" Ellie screamed loudly, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" She cheered happily and started jumping up and down, "Call Dad at work Mom! When do I start? What happens?"

"You start tomorrow at nine o'clock, which means no school again. We're going to have to pull you out of school for the last two weeks and for next year as well. I'll call the dance camp too and explain what happened, you can't go anymore." She saw Ellie's face fall, this was all becoming so real, "But if you're really not sure about this commitment we can still email-"

"No! I want to do this, just give it time to all sink in. This is going to be so much better then dance camp. I know its going to b hard work and I know you and Dad don't think I can do this. But I want you to see that I'm just as much of a hard worker as Andy is. So what if he gets better grades then I do."

"Ellie this isn't a competition and if you did this just to get at your older brother-"

"I didn't Mom. But I just…he's so good at everything and I want this for me. But I don' just want it for that. I love singing and dancing and acting."

"I know you do. You've always loved being in the spotlight. " She thought back to how when she was younger she always needed to be the centre of attention and how she loved putting on plays.

"So can I do this? I promise I won't quit, I want this to much."

"Yes Ellie you can do this."

"Yes!" Ellie hugged her mother happily, "Now lets call Dad."

 **TBC**


	33. Andy's Broken Leg

**A\N:** Here's the next one-shot in the series. I hope you all like it. Thanks as always to my friend on Twitter for her support. I'm not that good at writing children as they get older so I hope I wrote Andy like a thirteen year old boy would act. If anyone has any suggestions though on how I can improve please let me know.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own anything

 **Spoilers:** None

 **Warinings:** None

* * *

 **Andy's Broken Leg**

Andy got off his skateboard and turned to look at where Sophia and her friends were flirting with grade eight boys. Sophia was laughing at something they said and Andy could feel himself become angry. He and Sophia weren't dating but they were more then friends in a way, at least that's what he thought. Ever since they'd kissed though they'd hardly talked to each other.

"She wouldn't be doing that if you had the balls to ask her out," His best friend Cooper pointed out.

"Shut up!" Andy glared angrily ay him. "I'll get het to pay attention to me," He challenged he got on his skateboard and started to go fast towards one of the bigger ramps. He went up the ramp and tried to do a flip, even though he didn't know how yet. He landed on his leg, his helmet hitting the pavement with a loud thud.

"Andy! Oh Man!" Cooper raced over to his best friend, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Andy groggily tried sitting up but he felt as if he was going to throw up. He went to stand but let out a loud scream. Now almost everyone was crowding around him and he felt as embarrassed as he had ever been. Plus he was pretty sure his leg was broken

"I'm calling 911," Cooper dialled.

"No!" Andy groaned out, "My Mom's working a shift today. She's going to come and freak out, "Just call my Aunt."

Cooper didn't respond as he told the dispatcher what had happened. He hung up and looked back at Andy who had thrown up.

"I think it's a good thing I called 911. Man you look awful," He'd never seen anyone look as bad as Andy did.

"Thanks Man, "Andy replied sarcastically, "But really I'm fine!" He tried to stand up again.

"Don't do that Andy," Sophia rushed towards him and pushed him back down, "You're going to make whatever this is worse."

Andy was mortified that the girl he liked was here and had witnessed that. He just stared at her for a few minutes his eyes opening and closing. His leg and head throbbing in pain, all he wanted to do was sleep.

"Don't fall asleep," Sophia took his hand, "I think you have a concussion. A girl on my cheerleading team had one once and she threw up too. You can't fall asleep or you might loose consciousness."

"I want to be asleep when my Mom comes. She's never going to let me skateboard again!" He complained.

Sophia didn't know how to respond t that so she changed the subject "Tell me something."

"I feel awful."

"Bedside's that." Sophia chuckled a little at his sense of humour. She had no idea how she was keeping her cool, as even when he was injured Andy was very good looking.

"Coming through what-" Brett's voice called out as she and Gabby made there way through the crowd that had gathered. She stopped dead when she saw Andy. She turned to her friend who had also seen her son on the ground

"Andy!" Gabby raced towards him, "What happened?" She demanded, tears threatening to fall down her face. She looked him over and it didn't take her long to see his swollen leg.

"I fell off my skateboard but I'm fine Mom." Andy again tried to stand up.

"Don't you dare move Andrew Liam Casey!" She threatened suing his full name, something she only did when he was in serious trouble, "You have a broken leg. Moving could make it worse."

"Mom I'm fine," Andy lied.

Gabby shook her head. Not only did he look like his father but he had that same pride and stubbornness as well. Neither her husband or her eldest son were able to admit they were in any kind of pain or were weekend in anyway.

"Now's not the time to be stubborn Andy," Brett warned as she began to check his eyes, "It's a good thing you were wearing the helmet it looks like you have a concussion. We're going to put you on the back board and take you to Chicago Med." Since Gabby had left fifty-one and was now a part time teacher at a local college she ahd been made PIC. On the rare occasions Gabby picked up an extra shift she'd take on the role again but Brett knew that Gabby was far to worried about her son to do it now.

"Yeah and I'll call Aunt Laura to come and pick you up." Gabby told him as she and Brett lifted him onto the backboard.

"I'm-"

"Don't you dare say it," Gabby shook her head as she fought the tears that were threatening to fall. She kept reminding herself that Andy was going to be fine, a broken leg wasn't that serious. She and Brett loaded him into the back of the ambulance and without saying anything Gabby climbed into the back, much to Andy's complaints.

"Wait, Mrs. Casey!" Sophia ran up to them, "Can I come too?" She asked. She wasn't sure if she'd be allowed of not but she knew she needed to ask. Seeing Andy fall was one of the scariest things she'd ever seen. For a few seconds when he didn't move she thought the worst. She really liked Andy and she thought it was so frustrating how she couldn't find the courage to talk to him. She didn't even know if he was still interested in her. Her friends all said he was but she needed to be sure.

"No," Gabby shook her head. She didn't know Sophia or her parents very well. The last thing she needed was a lawsuit because Sophia's parents disapproved over their daughter riding in an ambulance, "If you want you can come over to the house tomorrow and see him."

"Alright," Sophia nodded and stepped back watching the ambulance drive away.

* * *

After two hours in the ER waiting room Andy finally saw a Paediatrician. After x-rays and an examination it was clear he'd broken two bones in his left leg. The paediatrician had called for an orthopaedic consult to see if Andy needed to have surgery before the cast went on.

"I heard you were here." Alison walked behind the curtained area with a tray of assorted food, "I thought you might be hungry," She looked at Andy who had a deep frown on his face.

"Just go away!" Andy looked angrily at her. He knew this would happen, people being nice to him just because he was in the hospital.

"Andrew!" "You don't talk like that. I don't care if you are in a lot of pain.

"That's okay," Alison assured Gabby. She had seen much worse from patients and understood why Andy was so miserable. Having two broken bones wasn't something an adult could easily come to terms with let alone a child.

"How're Damien and Aisha doing?" Gabby asked. Allison's son Damien was Ella's best friend from daycare and would hopefully be in the same Junior Kindergarten class as her.

"Good. Damien's excited about school; it'll be nice having a bit more money with both kids not in daycare all day. Just after school on days I'm at work."

"My husband and I did talk about Andy watching Jacob and Ella after school this year but I think we'll wait for a few months, until he's out of crutches."

"I'm not using any crutches."

"Yes you are." Gabby told him firmly, "You won't be able to walk otherwise. It's up to you, be in a wheelchair or use crutches."

Andy mumbled something under his breath that Gabby heard all to well. She stood and decided she needed to take a little break, "I'm going to go back to the firehouse for a bit. I'll try and be back before the orthopaedic surgeon comes."

"I'll stay with him until then," Allison offered.

"I don't need a babysitter." Andy growled.

"Thank you, that would be great," Gabby said to Allison ignoring her son's comments.

* * *

When Gabby and Brett arrived back at the firehouse Gabby made her way towards Matt's office. She smiled at his sectary, a nice older woman named Catherine. "Is he on the phone?" She asked.

"No," Catherine shook her head. She knew Gabby was the chief's wife and although she didn't understand how she could do shifts as an EMT at the firehouse she liked the other woman. She was sweet and nice and she and the chief were very good together, "Chief Casey told me about what happened to your son? How is he?"

"Stubborn," Gabby shook her head, "He has a broken leg and he'll probably need surgery. I'm going to take a few hours off of sift to stay with him."

"Of course. Do you need me to call in a replacement?"

"Maybe," Gabby knocked on the door and waited for Matt to say she could enter. He was sitting at the desk doing paper work. He looked so sexy sitting there. She was so proud of him for making chief and being so good at it. He was a natural born leader and his job made him so happy. She loved seeing him happy.

"Gabby," Matt stopped doing his work and stood up from his chair and walked over to his wife, "How's Andy doing?" He kissed her forehead, "How are you doing?" He could see she was stressed out.

"He has two broken bones in his leg. He's just waiting to see an orthopaedic surgeon to see if he'll need surgery but he probably will. There pretty bad breaks, he fell pretty hard, almost shattered one of them. It's going to be a long road to recovery."

Matt pulled Gabby into him and hugged her; he kissed the side of her head. He was trying to stay calk himself, If he was overemotional there was no way that he'd be able to calm Gabby down, one of them needed to stay calm. It was usually him, Gabby often got overly emotional or angry when one of their kids were hurt or in trouble. She was a passionate and loving mother and only wanted what was best for their kids, even of that meant being hard on them.

Matt knew he wasn't perfect, when he got angry with the children he'd yell and loose his tempter quite easily. Then after taking some time, and often Gabby talking to him he was able to go back and talk things out.

Gabby pulled away from Matt and ran her hands through her hair; "Of course he's pretending there's nothing wrong with him. It's that damn Casey pride. He's being so difficult I just needed to get out of there. I'll go back and sit with him until after the surgery. Then Laura can pick him up."

"I thought the Casey charm was one of the reasons you fell in love with me." Matt pointed out to her in an effort to make her feel better,

"You yes, but it doesn't go over well on a thirteen year old boy."

"Point taken." He knew that now wasn't a good time to joke around, "You go and wit with Andy. I called in a relief EMT and signed all of the forums." He saw her get that look in her eyes like she was about to yell so he took her hands and said, "Go and be with our son, one of us needs to be. I know he's acting like a-

"Jerk." Gabby filled in for him. She hated calling her son that but that's what he was being."

"But underneath all of that we both now he's terrified," Matt finished for her, "If you say he's so much like me then I know he's scared. All of this times I got hurt I was too."

"Well you two need to start realizing your injured," Gabby rolled her eyes, "Men."

Matt wanted to point out that she worked though pain as well but knew that would be a mistake, instead he kissed her.

Gabby kissed him back, after everything that had happened she needed to feel that closeness. Just as they were deepening the kiss the call bells went off.

Matt gave her one last quick kiss and then jogged out of his office.

* * *

"Just in time, the orthopaedic surgeon should be here soon," Allison told Gabby as she walked into room. She saw that the food that Allison had brought for Andy hadn't been touched and her son still looked as upset as ever. Now that she had taken a little break she was more sympathetic and able to understand where he was coming from. He was very athletic and the thought of not being able to do participate in sports would be worrying him.

"You know honey," Gabby looked at him, "You'll be able to play sports again. Maybe even by April. You'll miss the hockey season, I know that's disappointing but…"

"I don't care Mom!" Andy shook his head. That was far from the truth though, he loved hockey and was devastated he wouldn't able to play for the season. What if he would never be able to play sports again? What if he'd done more damage then the doctor's thought."

"Well I'll go now," Allison knew Gabby woukd want some alone time with Andy.

"Look Andy," Gabby looked at her son, "I get that you're frustrated but acting like nothing is wrong isn't helping. You need to be honest here, let the doctor know how much pain you're in."

"Andrew Casey," An older doctor walked into the room carrying his IPad, "I see you broke your leg pretty badly son. Can I have a look?"

"Whatever," Andy replied.

The doctor put down the IPad and began to gently feel Andy's leg, "You know I remember when my son broke his arm, this was many years ago. But he was around your age, he got all of the girls to feel bad for him." He tried to make the young boy feel better, or at least smile a little. Andy didn't respond although a hint of a smile appeared on his face for a second or two.

The doctor continued to examine Andy for another twenty minutes. He lifted up his injured leg and examined the swollen areas, he made notes on the IPad and kept going back to look at the X-ray.

"Well it looks like you're going to need surgery to repair the bones," The doctor conformed what Gabby had already suspected. Looking at Gabby he said, "Are you his mother or legal guardian?"

"Mother." Gabby confirmed, "And I'm a EMT so tell me everything."

The doctor nodded his head and went into explanation of what he wanted to do in the surgery. When he was finished he said, "We'll try and get you up to the OR as soon as we can. Do you have any questions?"

Andy shook his head and was about to say something but then he began to cry, tears rushing down his face. He'd put on an act all day and he couldn't do it anymore. "I'm scared," He admitted in a soft voice as he turned to look at his mother.

Gabby reacted immediately by hugging her son. "I know you're scared but it'll be alright. The surgery is a routine one and it won't take that long. You're going to get a shot so you'll be asleep and then when you wake-up you'll get the cast on and get your crutches and then we can go home. And we can have anything you want for dinner tonight. Aunt Laura can watch Jacob and Ella until after dinner. I'll take you out."

Andy looked at his mother and nodded, "I'm sorry I'm so scared." He thought he should apologize.

"You don't need to apologize for being scared," Gabby assured him.

But Andy thought he did. He never saw his father show any kind of fear and he thought he shouldn't either, especially for a broken leg. His father ran into burning buildings for a living and he wasn't scared.

* * *

Walking up the driveway of the Casey house Sophia wondered if she should turn back. She knew Mrs. Dawson had told her she could come by but she wondered now if it was to late. Her parents had told her to go in the afternoon to give Mr. and Mrs. Casey some time to sleep after working the following day. It took her almost all afternoon to figure out what to wear and then she was texting her friends. It was now almost four thirty. She rung the doorbell, and waited.

Gabby opened the door not surprised to see Sophia on the other side. Sophia was a very pretty young girl with shoulder length brown hair and green eyes. She was wearing just a little make-up. She knew Andy had liked her since he was eight and that Sophia was very popular and at times mean to Ellie. She knew being a pre-teen girl as hard but didn't want her son involved with a mean girl.

"Hi Mrs. Casey. Is it okay if I see Andy now? I know it's late and I'm really sorry."

"Not at all. I was just starting dinner Ellie's rehearsal don't end until six." Gabby stepped aside to let her in. "Andy's in the living room watching TV."

"Wow, this is a beautiful house," Sophia looked around. She walked into the living room and saw Andy, he was sitting with his casted foot propped up, crutches beside him. "Hi Andy."

"Sophia!" He looked around quickly at her and then glared angrily at his mother, "I uh… " He struggled to get up with his crutches but once he did he walked away. "Out!" He walked into the family room that was more used as a playroom. He glared at his younger brother and sister, "This is my room for the next two months so get out!" He yelled angrily. Get out!" He yelled at them, as they didn't leave, "If you don't leave I'll beat you up with my crutches!" He threatened. Ella left in tears and Jacob left angrily.

"Mom!" Jacob walked out of the room, "Andy's threatening to kill me again!"

"Garcia," Ella started to cry, she turned and ran into he kitchen "Mommy!" She snuffled, "Garcia! I want Garcia!"

"Okay," Gabby had already heard Jacob complain about Andy kicking him out of the playroom and now she had even more incentive to talk to her son. "You stay here alright, this is Sophia, she's Andy's friend."

"Hi," Sophia looked down at the three year old "I hear you're going to be in Junior Kindergarten in a few weeks."

"I am," Ella nodded her head and smiled, "I'm going to be in my boyfriend's class," She informed the older girl even though she didn't know which class she or Damien would be in.

Sophia grinned at her, "You have a boyfriend?"

"He's really cute. His name is Damien," Ella told her. "Is Andy your boyfriend?" She asked. She didn't know why her brother didn't just ask her out. Damien didn't have any problem asking her out.

Sophia wasn't expecting that question. She hadn't really babysat yet so she didn't have much experience with young children. Did they all ask questions like that? She wasn't sure how to answer so she changed the subject, "It'll be nice to have another friend at school when you start. Maybe I can come and see you. Make sure you're doing okay? Would you like that?"

Ella looked up at her wide-eyed. Ellie was never this nice to her neither were her friends. She loved having an older girl want t be friends with her, "Yes!" She cheered happily.

"Here you go sweetie," Gabby walked into the kitchen and handed Ella her teddy bear, "You go and play upstairs, you too Jacob. Leave your brother alone."

"Mommy Sophia said she's my friend!" Ella informed her mother, a huge smile on her face, "And she's going to play with me at school. I want her to look after me not Andy," She said and then went off to play.

"I don't need any babysitter," Jacob wasn't as eager to leave as his younger sister was.

"I'm not going over this with you again Jacob," Gabby warned, "You're not old enough to stay in your own. I don't care if your friends do it." She told her son who simply walked off in a pout. She wondered if her middle son needed to find some new friends and if Jacob's friends really were allowed to stay home alone like he claimed; she kept meaning to look into it but she was so busy that there was never ay time.

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" Gabby offered to Sophia, "My husband is brining home pizza and wings after picking up Ellie from her rehearsals. "I'm sure they'll be enough."

Sophia was surprised by the offer but grateful, she really did want to spend some time with Andy, "Thank you Mrs. Casey. I'll go and ask my parents." She got out her cell phone and sent her mother a text. A few minutes later her mother responded saying she could stay over but to let her know when she was leaving. "I can stay," Sophia informed Gabby. "Is it okay if I go and see Andy now?"

"In a minunte," Gabby told her, "I want to talk to you first." She looked at the young teenager, "Nothing bad but it is serious. I know you like Andy," She began, "And I know Andy would be upset that I told you I think he really likes you. You're both so young though that I just want to warn you to be careful, I don't want to see either of you get hurt. Another thing is I know that Ellie has told me in the past that you and your friends can be quite mean. I don't want that type of influence on my daughter's and I don't want you pulling Andy into that world."

Sophia was to stunned to be upset, she wasn't expecting that, although she supposed she had it coming, "I was a mean girl, very mean," She admitted looking down at the ground, "In July when my parents found out how bad it had really gotten this past year they had me sit down with a girl in my grade, one who my friends and I constantly bullied. I guess this girls parents had called mine and.. she ended up in the hospital after attempting suicide. I talked to her and she was honest and it… it was awful." She cried, "I knew I was mean and I'm not excusing my actions but I just didn't know… I never wanted anyone to do that because of me. I cut all ties with my best friends, as hard as it was and I'm hanging out with new girls, girls who don't hate me. I'm sorry for what I did to Ellie, I'll apologize when I see her later tonight."

Gabby found the girls answers to be honest and she was glad she as trying to turn things around, "Well maybe we can talk about you watching Ella after school. Andy was going to watch her and Jacob but it'll be too much with his cast on for two and a half months. Then rehab on top of it. He'd be okay with just Jacob I think."

I'd really love that Mrs. Casey," Sophia spoke honestly,

"Great, well I'll talk to my husband and talk to your parents." She said, "You can go and see Andy now although I'm not sure he'll be much up for talking."

"I just want to see how he's doing," Sophia explained. She walked into the playroom and saw that Andy was laying on an inflatable air mattress. His red cast on his entire left leg. She walked towards him but before she could say anything he looked up and saw her.

"Sophia," He looked at her, not sure what she was doing or what he wanted to say to her. "What are you doing here?"

"Your Mom said I could stay for dinner," She told him as she sat down beside him. She then leaned over and kissed him on the lips.

"Wha-what?" He blinked a few times at her after there lips parted. "Why'd you do that?" He asked then seeing her begin to look upset he added, "I don't mind."

She smiled "Good. Because I want you to be my boyfriend."

He couldn't think of anything else to say so he just said "Yes."

 **TBC**


	34. Stuck in the Middle

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any character you recognize from the show. I only own the Casey kids. Damien and his sister and mother are inspired by a actual people who serve as a constant inspiration for this series I can't thank them enough for always being who they are and giving me lots of great material.

 **Spoilers:** None

 **Warinings** **:** None

* * *

 **Stuck in the middle**

"But Mom!" Jacob frowned and pouted as he swallowed his cereal, "I'll only have babies to play with! Why can't I stay home with Andy?"

"Because your brother's still in leg cast. Now I'm not saying anything else. Eat up."

The week had been hot in Chicago and Gabby has been stuck at home with the kids for most of the week, all of them getting board. The mother of Ella's friend Damien had invited them to one of the largest splash pads in t he city today. Ella was very exited, the only problem was she had two kids were 3 and 6. Jacob at 8 didn't want to play with younger children, especially girls. Matt was on shift, Ellie at rehearsal and with Andy still in a cast and pretty miserable Gabby was taking a very miserable Jacob along.

"I wish KJ wasn't on vacation," Jacob mumbled to himself as he got up from his chair and brought his bowl to the sink. K.J his best friend, who was the son of his parents best friend Kelly was in Florida with his family for a week.

 _Me too_ Gabby agreed in her head; If not on vacation Gabby knew Jacob would be more then welcome at his godparents house. If she'd known that today Jacob decided he didn't want to go she would have tried to make other arrangements, but he seemed very exited two days ago when she's told him.

"When can I stay home Mom? It's not my fault Ellie has her stupid play," He sighed. Since his older sister was always away he was being treated younger and not older. He wished his parents would let him stay home by himself and look after Ella; things Ellie would get to do. Instead he was constantly told he was either two young or to old for things, like last week when they were at an indoor playground and there was hardly anything for him to do because he was either to short or to tall.

"When you're older," Gabby repeated what she seemed to be saying a lot lately, "I know things are crazy right now but things will settle when school starts in three weeks." She was saying that to herself as well as her son. She was feeling very stressed out with having to take care of Andy and bring along Ella and Jacob when she dropped Ellie off at the theatre at five o'clock in the morning.

"Mommy, I'm all ready!" Ella, who didn't want to go back to sleep when they got home from taking Ellie to rehearsal ran into the kitchen. She was wearing a pink t-shirt and bathing suit shorts. "Let's go now!" She started bouncing up and down.

"In a minute Ella," Gabby knew her daughter was a good mood now but she'd crash by late afternoon due to not getting enough sleep. "First lets make sure we have everything. Come and bring me your pink bag."

Ella grabbed the bag from the floor beside her and ran over, "I putted in extra clothes like you told me to Mommy," She announced, "And some pony tails and a brush that doesn't hurt." She had long, thick curly hair, a nightmare to brush but she liked having it long, so Gabby just always made sure to have lots of brushes and ponytails

"Good, now we need some sun screen, a towel, your hat and some flip-flops for you to wear." Being a paramedic she knew what kind of germs and bacteria were on the floors of the splash pads, so she had her children wear flip-flops while playing. She finished filling up the bag, "Now we just need Jake and we're all set."

"Jakey!" Ella screamed for her older brother, "Hurry up!" She ran towards the stairs leading the second floor, "Lets go!"

"Don't yell at me!" Jacob frowned as he walked down the stairs, "You have to listen to me, I'm older."

"No! I don't have to do what boys say!" Ella told him, "Girls are better then boys."

Jacob yanked Ella's hair out her braid and smiled as she went crying to their mother. If he acted badly then he'd get to stay home.

"Jacob!" Gabby walked towards him a stern expression on her face, "You know better then to hurt your little sister. Is this because I let you start boxing with Diego? Jacob had taken up an interest in boxing so Gabby and Matt had agreed to let him start training with Diego.

"No!" Jacob shook his head. "No its not!" Angry his plan failed he sighed, "I'll be good, even if I do have to play with babies today."

"You'll have fun I promise. This splash pad is the one right across the street from Diego's apartment building. You know the one you saw last week when he took you to his apartment after camp."

"Can we go and see Diego?" Jacob asked excitedly. He loved his older cousin and looked up to him as if he was another older brother. Since they looked so much alike people had mistaken Diego for his father. He was always disappointed when Diego was quick to correct them,

Gabby realized that probably wasn't the best thing to tell her son but he would have known where they were anyways when they got there. Plus she hoped if he knew it was that one he'd get more excited, "No sorry. Diego's girlfriend is on shift today and he's looking after her son. I'm not sure a big splash pad like that is a good place for Lucas, remember he's only one. Besides you saw him a few days ago."

"I like Diego and Megan and even Lucas," Jacob told her, "He's cute, unlike Ella who is just annoying."

"No, I'm cute," Ella informed her older brother, "Lucas cute too." She agreed about the toddler who she loved to play with.

Jacob sighed again as his mother handed him his backpack and he followed her and Ella out to the car.

* * *

They got to the splash pad to find it very busy, which wasn't a surprise considering how hot it was outside. Gabby took Ella's hand and kept an eye on Jacob as she texted Allison to meet up with them. Allison and her kids were standing near one of the water climbers and Ella took off running. She ran so fast her backpack swung off her back causing it to get wet.

"Mommy!" Ella sniffled as she looked at her backpack and began to cry. "Mommy its wet! Everything's ruined!"

As Gabby went to comfort her daughter Damien walked to pick up the wet backpack and hand it to Ella, "Here Ella. You can have my towel." He told her smiling. He hugged her and she hugged him back.

"Well that's very nice of you Damien," Gabby praised the young boy, always amazed at how sweet and kind he could be to Ella. "Ella you say thank you."

"Thank you," Ella kissed Damien on the cheek before taking his hand and the both of them going off to play.

"Stay where we can see you!" Allison called after them. It was a large splash pad and very crowded the last thing she wanted was to loose her three year old son.

"Jacob do you want to go on the water slide with me?" Six yea-old Aisha asked Jacob. "It's really big!"

"No, it's a baby slide," He rolled his eyes, "I'm not a baby!"

"Jacob, Aisha was trying to be nice," Gabby told her son, "I know you don't want to be here but I also know you'll have fun if you stop being so miserable. It's a hot day outside and you're surrounded by water, g get wet, it'll make you feel better."

Jacob mumbled under his breath as he walked off with Aisha. Despite not wanting to he did have a good time with her. She was funny and he was impressed she knew French as well as he knew Spanish. They mostly played on the water climber and had fun jumping on the plush lily pads and spraying each other with water guns.

But whenever Jacob saw the apartment building Diego lived in he remembered how angry he was. He was sure his cousin was home and he knew he'd have more fun with him.

At lunchtime drew near Gabby and Allison got out the picnic style lunches they'd packed. They each brought different thins so the kids and they would have more to choose from. Damien was a little bit of a picky eater but the other kids were all right. Allison was often impressed though that Ella wasn't afraid to try anything, even oysters and was even more amazed her favourite foods were foods that most adults didn't like. She loved oysters and shrimp and Thai food and things that were very spicy.

Damien and Ella walked up to where their mothers were and ran to the picnic table each hungry. However no sooner had they approached did Gabby know that Ella had an accident, she could smell it. She wasn't surprised, Ella was potty trained but there was so much to do and she was easily distracted.

"Come on Ella," She picked up her daughter's now dry backpack, "Lets go" She reached her hand out for her daughter to take. "Can you watch Jake when he and Olivia get back?" Gabby asked Allison.

"Of course."

"Thanks."

* * *

Jacob looked up at the condo buildings in front of him and took a deep breath. In the back of his mind he knew he'd get into trouble for this, serious trouble but he was tired of either being to old or two young for things. Diego never treated him like a baby and let him do things his parents didn't. If he couldn't live with Diego then maybe he'd run away. He spoke fluent Spanish so he could live in Mexico. He thanked a woman who held the door to the complex open for him and went to the elevator. Diego told him he lived on the tenth floor in 1009. He waited for the elevator to come and he got in. People looked at him and he was afraid someone was going to say something but no one did. Getting out he walked down the hallway looking for the apartment door and knocked. Diego could see someone look through the peephole and then quickly open the door.

"Jacob," Diego opened the door, Lucas on his hip, he took a look down the hallway and sighed, "Where are your parents? Why are you wet?" He indicated the boys clothing. He set Lucas on the ground, much to the toddler's frustration and ushered his cousin in.

"I was at the splash pad," Jacob explained, "I wanted you to come but Mom said no. I decided I'm going to live here," He looked at Diego and smiled, "You don't treat me like I'm a baby. Mom and Dad do."

"Oh," Diego shook his head. He couldn't believe this was happening again. He was having flashbacks to when Andy ran away when he was watching him. Andy was only four but he'd ended up at District twenty-one, thinking running away was a game. He was frustrated at Ellie and a then infant Jacob getting all of the attention. "Well maybe you should ask your brother," He sighed as he got out his cell phone, "I'm calling your mother. She's going to be worried."

"Why should I ask Andy?" Jacob asked but Diego didn't answer as he was talking on the phone. He walked over to where Lucas was playing and sat down. Lucas handed him a few blocks and smiled as Jacob stacked them and waited until he knocked them over.

"Your mother's coming over here. You made her worried sick!" Diego had never been so angry with anyone in his life. He was almost positive he wouldn't be reacting like this if he didn't have Lucas and Megan in his life. He loved Lucas like a son and he could now imagine how scared and panicked his aunt must have been when she realized Jacob was lost. "I don't think I've ever been more disappointed in anyone," Diego stared at him.

Jacob frowned, angry tears streaming down his face, "You can't tell me what to do!" He ran towards the door, Diego moved quickly to block it, "Let me go!" Jacob yelled, trying to get past Diego but he was too strong. All Diego had to do was hold his forehead to restrict Jacob's movements. After fighting his cousin for a few minutes Jacob collapsed on the floor and cried. "It's not fair! I'm always to little or to big for everything!"

Diego didn't' know what to do, a part of him wanted to comfort the boy he didn't want to reward him for running away either. Finally he decided to leave him alone and go play with Lucas until his aunt came. He buzzed Gabby up and opened the door for her, his aunt running to Jacob and hugging him.

"You had me worried sick!" She hugged him, tears still in her eyes, "You could have been kidnapped or hit by a car. You're not supposed to be crossing the street on your own."

"But I'm not a baby!" Jacob tried to wriggle free of his mom's hold, "I did cross the street on my own. I did everything I was supposed to do."

"We'll talk about it later," Gabby told him, she was still emotional from being worried about him to think straight. "Now I don't think you should go back to the waterpark but I don't want you going home either," She finally realized she'd need to find somewhere for him to go for a few hours. "Maybe Aunt Laura needs some help at her store."

"I can watch him," Diego offered, "There are lots of things around here he can do. Fold and put away laundry. Clean the kitchen, put away toys. You can dust too." Diego was going to make this as miserable as he could for his cousin, he never wanted him to run away again, "And we can talk about how he'd going to be missing his boxing lesson for the next two weeks."

Jacob crossed his arms, "I don't like you anymore," He looked at Diego.

That stung Diego as he loved his cousin deeply and was only trying to do what was best for him. It was then he realised he needed to call his parents and apologize for all of the times he told them that he didn't love them anymore.

"That sounds good, thanks Diego," Gabby appreciated her nephew's offer, "It should only bed for a few hours. I don; think Ella will last very long."

"No problem," Diego told her, "Like I said there are lots of things for Jacob to be doing.

* * *

When Jacob walked into the kitchen the next day he peaked his head in to make sure his father wasn't there. While spending most of the afternoon at Diego's cleaning he had the chance to think about what he did. He still thought it was the best course of action considering he wanted to be treated older. But what he did think about was how mad his father would be when he found out. His shift ended at nine o'clock but sometimes he got home later.

"Jacob!" Matt stood up from his chair and motioned with his finger for Jacob to come closer, "Your mother just told me what you did yesterday. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I was already punished." Jacob decided maybe that was the best thing to say.

"I don't care how much cleaning you did at your cousins house," Matt warned, "Now come here and look me in eyes when I'm talking to you," He ordered. Having been a Lieutenant and then Fire Chief for many years helped him in disciplining his children he found.

Jacob walked forward and looked at his father, "I'm not really sorry," He told the truth, "I didn't want to go to the splash pad and play with younger children. I want to be treated like I'm older, I'm very mature."

Matt took a deep breath and counted to ten so he didn't yell at his son. Jacob was very much like his mother, and he had the Dawson stubbornness and single-mindedness that got his mother in trouble as a child and on the job as well. Unlike his mother and older sister Ellie he didn't have the ability to talk himself out of situations, instead he often got even more angry and single-minded when he was in trouble. As he got older this was becoming even harder to manage. None of this was helped by the fact that he was smart, very smart. Matt and Gabby were sure he would be accepted into a private school with more changeling classes, they didn't have the money for that though and for right now he seemed fine at the school he was at.

"Jacob, running away doesn't show your mother and I you want to be treated like a older child. Running away shows immaturity because you don't know how do deal with difficult problems. Life is full of thing we don't want to do but we can't always get what we want. We can't run away either. You worried your mother sick, do you know that? And you worried your younger sister too? Everything you do affects other people Jacob."

"Dad I'm always to young to do something, like stating home alone or to old to do something, like play on the play gym I wanted to. I can't do anything."

Matt could tell his son was upset, and he did have a point. He was to tall or to short, to young or to old for a lot of things. Matt knew though that Jacob knew better then to run away, he was a smart kid. "I know you're frustrated right now Jacob but you need to understand that the choices you make affect other people. What do you think would happen if one of my men decided to stay in a building that was one fire when I gave the evacuation order? Matt knew that using his work as an example might seem a bit extreme but he needed Jacob to understand that he couldn't do whatever he wanted. His behaviour only seemed to be getting worse in that regard and Matt wanted it stopped.

"They'd die, or someone would have to rescue them. Then they could both die," Jacob responded.

"Right. Now I know that the decisions you have to make aren't life or death and I know making decisions can be hard but you did cause a lot of ripple effects. Your mother was very worried about you and that made Ella very upset and it wrecked her day with her friend, something she'd been looking forward to."

Jacob looked down at the floor, "I didn't mean for that to happen I was-"

"You were acting selfishly," Matt, answered him, "Selfish behaviour isn't okay Jacob. When you have a problem like waning to be treated older and given more attention you come to talk to your mother and I. We do out best to try and pay attention to everyone but there's a lot going on alright?"

"Yeah, so I guess this means I'm still going to be treated like a baby?" Jacob should have guessed the answer. He hated how what he did had the opposite affect of what he wanted but he supposed he deserved that.

"It means that for the next two weeks you're going to be grounded. No friends over, no time on the IPAD and I think maybe you can do some of Andy's chores." Matt knew that was probably what Jacob wanted but it would be a big help, "And then if your mother and I feel that you can do them we'll talk about how we can help you feel like you're being treated like an eight year old. As for getting more attention, "I know it's been hard with Ellie at rehearsals and Andy's broken leg, Ella's the youngest so she needs attention too. We didn't mean to make you feel left out, but before all of this happened I was very impressed at how you seemed to be handling things. You helped your mother out by playing with Ella and Damien the other day so she could get some work done. When you're older and I mean ten or eleven then we can talk about you staying home alone, looking after your younger sister is something you won't be doing alone until you're older. Andy didn't stay home by himself until we was almost eleven and Ellie hasn't ever stayed on her own."

"Really?" Jacob hadn't realized that but he had no reason to believe his father was lying. He looked as his mother came back into the kitchen after picking up Damien and his older sister. Their mother had gotten called into work at the last minute and she'd called Gabby in a panic asking id she could watch the kids. Jacob stood up from his chair and walked over to his mother and hugged her, "I'm sorry Mom. I didn't mean to make you so upset."

Gabby looked down at her son and kissed his dark head of hair. Jacob was a good kid and she really believed him running away was a one off occurrence, "I know sweetie. I love you, always remember that."

"I love you too," Jacob hugged her; he looked up at her and took a step back, "Is Diego really mad at me? Does he hate me?" The last thing he'd ever want to do was to upset his cousin.

"I think he was disappointed in you but I know he doesn't hate you," Gabby had noticed that her nephew seemed overly angry at Jacob, more angry then she'd ever seen him at one of her children, and he'd babysat them a lot, even then they' d gotten in trouble. She guessed it had something to do with the fact that he'd stepped into the father role for Lucas, when she'd mentioned how scared she was he could imagine how scared he'd be if anything happened to Lucas. Having that feeling for the first time was very scary in its self.

"I hope he still lets me hang out with him and Lucas. I really like it."

"I think in two weeks when he starts giving you boxing lessons again you will," Gabby promised, "If you want you can call him and apologize, that would be nice. Why don't you go and do that now and then you can go outside and play with Ella, Damien and Olivia."

"Alright." Jacob nodded and took his mother's cell phone as she handed it to him.

 **THE END**


	35. Two Lives Left

**A\N:** A lot of my friends on Twitter requested this one-shot before I first published it.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own anything but the kids.

 **Spoilers:** Chicago Fire 2.10 "Not Like This"

 **Warinings:** None

* * *

 **Two Lives Left**

Gabby knew that getting a phone call in the middle of the night wasn't good, getting a phone call on the night her husband was working was even worse. She quickly answered the phone her eyes already getting wet from tears.

"Hello?" She took a deep breath as she flicked on the lamp on her bedside table. She sat up her back resting on the headboard

"Gabby," Kelly Severide's voice answered, he sounded stressed out and upset and right away Gabby felt as if she was going to vomit. As a paramedic and a wife of a fire fighter she knew this could happen. She jut ever wanted to belie it could happen to her. How was she going to tell the children? What would they think?

"No!" Gabby was sobbing, tears streaming down her face, "Please Kelly don't-"

"Mat's not dead," Kelly quickly interrupted his friend, "But it doesn't look good. The candidate was trapped in a building and Matt didn't want to ask his Truck Lieutenant to go and save him, it was dangerous. Matt got into the building and almost reached him when a steal bar fell and pinned him down. It ripped into his chest. Matt's in emergency surgery now at Med."

A part of Gabby was relived her husband was alive but the Paramedic inside if her knew Matt certainly wasn't out of the woods yet. She knew he had hero tendencies but she was so mad at him this time. Why did he always have to be the hero? One of these days it was going to cost him his life. She could only pray that day wasn't anytime soon,

"I'm going to come and get you and I called Antonio and he's going to come and watch the kids." Kelly explained.

"Thank-thank you," Gabby managed to get out. She waited until Kelly said goodbye and hung up the phone. With shaky legs she got out of bed and threw on the nearest clothes she could find, not caring how she looked.

"Mom," Ellie knocked softly and entered the bedroom. The young girl looking worried, "I heard you crying," The ten year old saw her mother's face and knew something bad was going on, "Did Daddy-did he?" She couldn't finish her sentence as she began sobbing uncontrollably.

Gabby hated lying to her kids but she also hated seeing them upset, "No, no sweetheart" Gabby rushed toward her and gave her a hug. "Dad's alright he just-"

"No he's not," Ellie shook her head. She knew her mother well enough to know something was wrong, "I'm not a baby Mom. Please, please tell me what happened."

Gabby took a deep breath. She knew Ellie would keep asking until Gabby told her the truth. Usually she'd tell her it was none of her business but she didn't have the energy right now, plus Ellie did have a right to know.

"He got seriously injured during a call. Uncle Kelly is coming to take me to the hospital and Tio Antonio is coming here to stay with you and your sister and brothers."

"I want to go to the hospital too," Ellie said, trying her best to act brave, even though on the inside she was breaking apart, She wanted to be strong for her mother.

"No Ellie, He'll be in surgery for a long time and then….you can see him later alright?"

"No!" Ellie yelled tears streaming down her face, "No, what if- what if he dies? I want to say goodbye!"

"Elizabeth," Gabby warned as she walked into the hallway and down the stairs having gotten a text from Antonio saying he'd arrived, "I'll keep your Uncle informed. Now go back to bed." Gabby opened the door and let Antonio in.

"No," Ellie shook her head, "I don't want to sleep now. I can't sleep now!"

Antonio hugged his younger sister and kissed her on the cheek before turning to his niece. "Then you can just stay up with me alright kiddo?" He hugged her, "But you need to lie down on the couch alright? Try can get a little rest."

"What's going on?" Andy appeared in the hallway as he flicked the lights on. As soon as he saw everyone's expressions he knew something bad had happened.

"Come on son," Antonio motioned for his nephew to go into the family room, "We can talk in here. Uncle Kelly's going to come and pick your mother up."

Andy wanted to argue, wanted to demand to know what was going on; but one look at his mother's face made him think twice. He'd never seen her look so broken, she'd always seemed so put together and strong, no matter what nothing seemed to get to her. Seeing her like this made Andy want to do everything in his power to protect her and that meant listening to what his Uncle was telling him to do.

* * *

Six hours of surgery later a doctor finally came into the waiting room, "Matthew Casey?" He looked around.

Gabby stood up and walked toward the doctor "Yes, I'm his wife. How is he?"

"Chief Casey suffered three broken ribs and damaged his lungs we were able to repair. When the beam fell down on him parts shattered close to his heart and ruptured it. We were able to repair that damage as well but he'll need to stay in the ICU for twenty-four hours until we're sure he's out of the woods. You may see him briefly once he's settled in his room."

"Dr. what are his chances for making a full recovery? Will he ever be able to be a fire-fighter again?" Kelly wondered.

"Chief Casey is very lucky," The Dr. acknowledged, "The bean coming down on him could have crushed more ribs which could have caused his heart and lungs to be at even more of a risk. However right now I don't want to give you any estimates as to his recovery. Now Mrs. Casey you may come with me."

Gabby followed the doctor down two floors to the ICU. She watched from the hallway as nurses got Matt settle into a bed and checked everything out. He was pale and she could see scars and bruises covering his body. He was wearing a hospital gown but Gabby knew underneath would be a bandage to protect his ribs and stiches and scars from where he was cut open.

"Dr." Gabby spoke up as Matt's doctor left his room and approached her, "A number of years ago my husband had a subdural hematoma as a result of a call. At that time the doctor told him another serious head trauma could be enough to cause brain damage. Is there anyway to know if he suffered any head trauma."

"The EMT's that brought him in didn't tell us of any," He replied as he flipped through his notes on his IPad, "Your husband was alert for par of the trip and never mentioned anything. However I will tell the nurse about your concerns. You can come back tomorrow during visiting hours. No children under 13 are allowed inside the ICU." He explained, "Sorry for any inconvenience but we have this rule to protect out patients, staff and visitors. Oh and my names Dr. Summers, sorry I forgot to mention that before. I'll be your husband primary physician,

"No, no I understand. I'm a EMT and you can call me Gabby."

"I'll be making checks on your husband every hour," Dr. Summer's told her, "No if you'll excuse me," He turned to leave. Gabby, now alone saw the nurse had finished in Matt's room. More then anything she wanted to go and visit him but knee she had some phone calls to make first.

* * *

"Mommy!" Ella opened the door to her bedroom rubbing her brown eyes, "Ellie!" She shouted for her older sister, "Your alarm woked me up!" She complained, "Turn it off!" She banged on the bathroom door but got no response. "Mommy! Mommy!" She shouted.

"Ella!" Antonio rushed up the stairs, taking three at a time to get to the top, "Hi princess," He picked up his niece and held her, "Mommy's not here right now but I am. Do you want to go back to bed?" He still wasn't sure what Gabby wanted him to tell Ella and Jacob. A few hours ago when she had called him all she had said was that there still wasn't any word on Matt's condition and that she was going to keep Ellie home from her Sound of Music rehearsals for the day.

"Where's Mommy?" Ella asked.

"Mommy had to go somewhere but she'll be back soon," Antonio explained, "Lets get you back to bed."

Just then Jacob walked out of his room, "Tio Antonio? What are you doing here?" He wondered rubbing his eyes. "Did something bad happen?" He wondered, "Where is Mom?"

"Where's Mommy?" Ella began to cry.

"Ssh sweetie," Antonio rubbed her back, "Where's Garcia? Do you want her?"

"Mommy!" Ella sobbed.

"Ella!" Andy yelled from downstairs, unable to walk up the stairs because of his broken leg, "I think you might like what Ellie and I made for you down here."

"What?" Ella looked at Antonio for an answer.

Antonio knew Andy and Ella had spent the better part of the night constructing a fort in the playroom. "Well lets go down and see," He suggested as he carried her down the stairs, Jacob right behind.

"I still want to know where Mom is," He told his uncle.

Antonio could understand that, Jacob was very smart and inquisitive. He reminded him very much of Diego when he was younger; he wondered of that was why his son got along so well with the eight year old.

Antonio carried Ella into the playroom and set her down on the floor. Andy and Ellie had moved all of the furniture into the centre of the room and put sheets over top of them making a fort.

Andy smiled at Ella, he didn't want her or Jacob to be upset today. He wanted to do everything he could to help out. "Come here kiddo," He smiled at his baby sister, "We can watch Moana as many times as you like and you can sing and dance."

"Yay!" Ella cheered happily. Antonio set her on the ground and smiled as she began to dance around, "Lets have pancakes too, please Tio Antonio?" She looked up at her uncle and pouted.

"Alright," Antonio nodded his head, "After breakfast is over I have to go to work so Uncle Kelly is going to come and watch you guys. He's going to bring KJ over too." He smiled at Jacob who wasn't all that impressed.

"I'll ask Uncle Kelly what's wrong," He decided. He looked at his older brother and sister and frowned. "He'll tell me."

"I'll ask too," Ella echoed her older brother.

Andy glared at Jacob silently telling him to be quiet. He was to young to know what was going on anyway. Andy would never understand why he felt as though he needed to be treated as an adult. There were things he didn't know and he didn't throw a tempter tantrum by running away.

"Come on lets go and make breakfast," Antonio changed the subject. He started walking into the kitchen when his cell phone rang, he looked at it and sae that it was Gabby.

"Hey," He answered on the second ring, "What's going on?"

"Matt's out of surgery but he's not out of the woods yet; I'll be here all day. Can I talk to the kids?" She knew she owned them all an explanation as to what was going on. They had a right to know even though they'd all be worried and scared.

"Yeah," Antonio pressed the speakerphone button and put the cell phone on the kitchen table.

"Hi," Gabby's voice filled the room.

"Mommy!" Ella raced towards the phone, "Where are you?" She reached her fingertips up to the top of the counter trying to peer over. She wanted to see if it was a video call. When her uncle lifted her up onto the counter she was disappointed that it wasn't.

"I need to tell all of you something important, and I need you to be brave alright," She took a deep breath, "Your father was seriously injured last night on a call. He had emergency surgery but he's still in the hospital. The doctors and nurses are doing everything they can to help make him better. I'm going to stay here today and maybe in a few days you can come and see him."

Ella began to cry and Antonio lifted her up and held her and comforted her. "It'll be okay sweetheart," He soothed, "Daddy's strong."

"No!" Jacob shook his head, "What if he dies what-"

"Jacob!" Andy glared at him, "Shut up!" The last thing he wanted was for Ella to get even more upset.

"I want to see him," Jacob announced. He trusted his mother but he wanted to see how baldy his father was hurt, wanted to see him and be with him.

"I want to see him too," Ellie repeated.

"No," Gabby shook her head. Matt was still in rough shape and she didn't want the kids to see that, "I'll keep you guys informed throughout the day. If things get worse I'll call you and you can come. Ellie you're not going to theatre today I know Tio Antonio told you that but I…."

"I understand Mom," Ellie cut her off, "I wouldn't be in any mood to da anything if I did go. Besides I want to be able to help out around here. I can look over my lines later if I feel up to it. I'm sure Rebecca can take over for me today," She explained. All of the children's roles in The Sound of Music were double casted, Ellie was the first choice for Brigritta and would be doing most of the shows and therefor getting paid more.

"Thanks, you kids be as good as you can for Uncle Kelly today. He should be there soon. I have to go now. I love you."

All of the kids responded back saying they loved her as well.

"Mommy!" Ella cried as Antonio picked up the phone, "I don't want Daddy to die?" She looked up at Antonio and rubbed her eyes, "Will Daddy die?"

"Come here sweetie," Andy wished he could pick up his baby sister, "Why don't we go and get Garcia?"

"Yeah that's a good idea," Ellie nodded in agreement, "And then maybe after dinner we can all play a game. Anything you'd like." She looked at her younger sister, "Or I can paint your finger nails. Or we can play hospital?

"What about me?" Jacob asked. How come his older brother and sister didn't care abbot how he was doing.

"You want to be treated like you're older," Andy smirked, "You can't have it both ways. Why don't you start helping? Maybe you can play with Ella too?"

"No! I don't play baby games!" He yelled he ran upstairs and slammed the door to his bedroom.

"Was that necessary Andy?" Antonio inquired. "He's only eight."

"Yeah and he wants to be treated like he's a teenager…. He's the one who has a problem."

"Well now Uncle Kelly has even more to deal with," Ellie pointed out. "And that's your fault."

"Oh stop acting so much like Mom," Andy rolled his eyes.

'Stop it!" Ella screamed covering her ears.

"I agree," Antonio put Ella on the ground, "You go and play while I make breakfast alright?"

"Yeah come on Ella," Ellie took her hand and led her out of the kitchen, "We'll have lots of fun."

Ella sniffled but went with her older sister anyways.

Antonio made pancakes and bacon and eggs for breakfast as he knew the kids were all hungry and needed something to keep their mind off Matt being injured. When breakfast was half way over the doorbell rang and Ellie jumped up and ran to get it knowing it would be Kelly.

Ellie wasn't obsessed or in love with Kelly anymore but they still shared a special bond. "Uncle Kelly!" She opened the door and hugged him, for the first time in a fee hours she cried.

"Ssh sweetie," Kelly kissed the top of her head, "It's okay to cry." He hated seeing her so upset and he wished there was more that he could do to help out. He knew watching the kids for the day was helpful but Kelly waned to do more to help his best friend get better.

"No, no what about Ella?" Ellie asked, "She's only four. I need to be strong for her."

"Hey, hey!" Kelly lifted her up briefly, "You are the sweetest girl I know but you just worried about being a kid alright? Let the grown-ups deal with looking after Ella. Besides you need to memorize all your lines. Have you finishes breakfast yet?"

"Almost."

"Well go tell Tio Antonio I'm here and I'm going to go and talk to Jacob," He told her. "I didn't bring KJ because Antonio told me what happened with Jacob. But he can come by later if Jacob feels like it."

"Alright," Ellie nodded and turned to leave.

Kelly walked up the stars to the house and into Jacob's bedroom. The eight year old was lying on his bed in tears. Kelly saw multiple things broken on the floor so he assumed Jacob had thrown things out of frustration. Although Jacob looked like Gabby he had Matt's temper and along with Gabby's stubbornness he was very hard to manage when he got into moods. When Kelly had learnt he'd run away he wasn't all that surprised.

"Go away!" Jacob screamed, he picked up his lamp, one of the only things around the bed that hadn't been thrown and aimed it at Kelly, "I'll throw this!"

"If you were going to do that you already would have," Kelly pointed out a he sat down on the bed, "I know you're angry because your father's injured and upset because you hate being eight but I got to tell you need to stop comparing yourself to your older brother and sister. Andy's always going to be the oldest and I know he's cool and popular and Ellie can do just about anything it seems," He chuckled, Jacob didn't seem amused as he scoffed, "But you could speak two languages at six and I know you're building LEGO structures a adult would be building. You're smart, very smart. So I know you know and want all of this to get you attention. I can imagine its hard having three siblings but you get attention too and bad attention isn't good. Now come downstairs and have some breakfast."

"I don't need to eat for two days," He lifted his head, "I'll be fine."

"Oh no," Kelly lifted him up over his shoulders, "You need to eat."

"Uncle Kelly!" Jacob screamed as he kicked him and counted to yell at way into the kitchen.

"Well that's interesting," Antonio commented. He didn't agree with using that approach with Jacob but understood and respect Kelly. He knew his sister trusted him with her life.

"Alright I have to go," He announced looking at his phone, "Aunt Laura is going to come tonight after dinner and watch you guys. Now you all be good for Uncle Kelly."

* * *

 **48 Hours Later:**

Matt opened his eyes briefly, it took him a minute to fully see where he was and when he could see clearly his mind was still blank. The last thing he remembered was going into the building to save the Truck Candidate who'd disobeyed his order when he told his house to get out of the fire. Moving his hand his entire body erupted in pain and he decided it was better to just lie still.

"Matt!" Gabby, who hadn't slept since he'd been in the ICU saw the movement and peered over him, he still hadn't woken up from surgery yet and she knew his doctor was getting worried, "Matt baby it's Gabby." She squeezed his hand, "Can you say anything?"

His mouth was dry and sore but he wanted to reassure his wife that he was okay. "Ga…abby… what…appened?" He began coughing.

"You were caught in a fire," She helped him sit up and drink some water, "You don't remember?" As he shook his head she feared for the worst, even though she knew that it was normal for people to block out traumatic injuries. She pressed the 'call button' and helped him lay back down, "I'm so glad you're awake," She kissed him on the lips. She knew he still had a long road ahead in terms of recovery but she didn't want him to worry about that.

A few minutes' later two nurses came in and checked him out. He did alright on all of the tests they performed and when Dr. Summer's came in he was able to tell him who Gabby was and what year and month they were in. He didn't know he'd been in a coma for two days though and when Gabby asked him about their children he forget to include Ella. Dr. Summer's ordered a MRI and said he needed to stay in the ICU a few more hours. When he left Gabby followed him.

"What's going on?" Gabby wanted to know as she followed him out into the hallway,

Dr. Summer's knew she had a medical background and that she would understand and be able to process his concerns. He pulled out his IPad, "I'm afraid the fall did cause some brain trauma," He explained. "But I'm hoping that it may be just temporary," He pointed out his area of concern on the X-ray from Matt's MRI the previous day. "His long term memory might have been affected a little as well as his motor control."

Gabby took a deep breath and tried to keep rational about everything. This could all just be temporary and not cause him anymore problems in the future. She couldn't imagine him not being able to remember Ella. "Our kids want to see him. But they're all under 13. When is he going to be moved to a regular room?"

"That'll all depend on the MRI results," Dr. Summer responded, "It's not backed up at the moment so we should be able to get him in soon. Hopefully in the next hour or so. In the main time you can stay with him, just try and limit the amount of stress he's under."

Gabby nodded her head, she took that to mean he didn't want her telling Matt about Ella.

Gabby walked back into the room and to Matt's beside, she sat down and took his hand. It was obvious he was in pain as she saw he was trying to get comfortable. Pressing the button the gave him more morphine she reached out to cares his face, "You have nine lives, but according to my calculation you only have two left. I can't imagine loosing you."

Matt knew he'd had a few close calls with death but he couldn't remember the specifics of anything without giving himself a headache. The worst thing of all though was that he and Gabby had a younger daughter he didn't even remember, would he ever be able to remember her? What was she like?

"What's our youngest daughter's name?" He asked, "Please tell me," He saw that she was hesitating.

Gabby sighed, she knew she wasn't supposed to cause him stress but at this point not telling him would cause him the most stress, in her opinion he ahd a right to know, "Her name is Esmeralda, but we call her Ella. She's named after my mother who died a few months before she was born. She's feisty and determined and she loves airplanes and otter space. She's three years old."

"I don't remember your mother dying," He shook his head in frustration, "The last thing I remember is being promoted to Chief of Firehouse fifty-one. When was that?"

"Almost five years ago. So you're blocking out a year; but hopefully it's not permanent. You just rest alright Babe," She leaned forward and kissed his lips. Inside she was screaming and crying, she knew him having huge memory losses wasn't a good sign that meant he could loose his career. But she had to stay calm for his sake. The most important thing was focusing on him getting better. She needed to help him in whatever why she could.

* * *

 **One Week Later:**

Stepping out of his car Kelly was glad to see that none of the kids had come out yet. He'd ran into a little traffic enroute to picking up and was afraid he'd be late. He couldn't wait to tell Jacob and Ella the good news, that after almost two weeks they'd be able to see their father again. When his MRI when he first awoke shows signs of brain damage the surgeons were able to act fast and fix the damage. The only down side to that was that meant he had to spend another few days in the ICU.

The sound of multiple children talking made him snap out of his thought and he began looking around for his kids as well as Jacob and Ella. He saw Ella first as she was riding on the shoulders of a male counsellor, with a chuckle he approached them and gave Ella a amuses expression.

The sports camp was for children aged 4-15 with three year olds rarely getting in; but since Andy and Ellie had been attending the camp for years the Director had let Ella attend, that being said the three year old was the youngest camper and most likely getting lots of special attention.

"Hi Uncle Kelly!" She waved, "I'm pretending I'm flying an airplane!" She grinned happily.

"Well go and put the plane back in the hanger, we have to go," Kelly told her, "Where's your brother?" He asked.

"I don't know?" She shrugged her shoulders as the male counsellor put her back on the ground and handed Ella back her backpack.

"You must be Kelly." The college student smiled, "I coach your son KJ in ball hockey. He has a lot of energy."

"Yeah he does," Kelly nodded his head, "Here he comes now." He spotted KJ and Jacob running over from an area where a counsellor was waiting with other children, "And here's Lilli," He spotted his five-year-old daughter.

"Hi Daddy!" Lillianna waved happily. "I jumped in to the water today and I wasn't wearing a life jacket! And Mommy gave me two apples my mistake so I-"

"Wow, wow," Kelly slowed her down knowing that I he let her she'd never stop talking, "You can tell me all about your day later. Right now we really have to go alright."

"Bye guys," The male counsellor smiled and turned to leave,

"Come on," Kelly picked up Ella and took Lilli's backpack and her hand as the boys began to talk to each other. He loaded them into his car and then got into the drivers seat, "Okay so Jake, Ella, your Mom called me and said your Daddy was moved to a room out of the ICU. So you're going to go to the hospital to see him. We're going to go to my house drop KJ and Lilli off and then we'll go and pick up Andy and Ellie and I'll go and take you to the hospital.

"Yay!" Jacob cheered happily, "Is Dad all better now? Can he come home?"

"Well he's still going to need to stay in the hospital for awhile but its good he's out of the ICU," Kelly explained. "Now he's still really sick so you have to remember to keep your voices down and no running and hugging him.

"Can Garcia come with me?" Ella asked, a little scared to see her father in a hospital bed really sick.

"Of course you can sweetheart. When we go and pick up Andy I'll go and get her for you alright. Now Lilli you can tell me about your day."

* * *

"Wait," Kelly held his hands up for the Casey kids to wait as he saw a wheelchair in the lobby. Matt's room was on the seventh floor and even though they'd be using elevators he knew Andy still couldn't be on his feet for to long.

"Andy, I want you to sit in a wheelchair," He pointed to the object.

"Oh no!" Andy shook his head, "People will think I'm a patient and they'll all be looking at me. I can keep up Uncle Kelly."

"This isn't up for discussion young man," Kelly warned, "Now lets go."

"Andy, "Ella tugged on her older brothers shirt with the hand that wasn't gasping onto Garcia, "Can Garcia and I ride with you? Garcia likes wheelchairs, maybe she'll be less scared then."

"Oh," Andy rolled his eyes and let out a dramatic sigh. He could never say no to his baby sister, "Fine, lets go, you can sit on my lap. Just be careful with the leg cast."

"Okay," Ella nodded her head. Kelly helped get Andy seated in the chair and then lifted Ella up to sit on his lap. He pushed the wheelchair and then they went on there way again. They got to the seventh floor in almost no time and once they did Kelly looked at the kids again.

"Now remember your Daddy's still really sick so no yelling or running towards him," He instructed. "And your Mom's under a lot of stress too so you behave, all of you, no arguing or fighting."

All of the kids nodded their heads Ellie and Jacob followed as Kelly began pushing the wheelchair again. He got to Matt's hospital room and opened the door.

"Daddy!" Ella jumped of Andy's lap and flew to her father's hospital bed, "Daddy I missed you this much!" She held out her arms to indicate a length, "I'm going to big girl summer camp too!"

"Doesn't she listen?" Jacob said under his breath.

"She's just a little girl," Kelly responded.

"Hi Dad," Ellie was next to speak, she walked over to the bed and helped Ella climb up on top of it, "I'm glad you're feeling a little better," She didn't like the look of the scars her father had but told herself that the doctors and nurses knew what they were doing. "I wish I could do something to help you out."

"You guys are making me feel better by being here," He told them. He turned to look at his sons, "What it's not cool to hug your father?" He asked, "How did Uncle Kelly convince you to sit in a wheelchair?" He asked his very stubborn twelve year old.

"Ella wanted to ride on my lap," He shrugged his shoulders as if it was no big deal.

"Ah," He nodded, "Hi Jacob," He could see the eight year old looked a bit nervous.

"Come here Jake, all of these tubes look scary but they just make Daddy feel better," Gabby approached her son and began to explain, "Come and sit on his bed with him."

Jacob shook his head as he began to cry, "I don't I don't- I don't like seeing you like this," He finally managed to get out as he looked at Matt, "Are you going to get hurt again?" He made slow steps to his father.

"I don't know bud but I can't promise not to get hurt again. I can only promise I'll try to stay safe." He knew his son wanted a definite answer but he couldn't give him that.

Jacob began sobbing and ran towards him, jumping on the bed he sat next to his father.

Kelly left and Gabby and the kids stayed for almost two hours. Jacob stayed glued to Matt's side while his brother and sisters talked to him. Andy talking a little about Sophia but mostly about how he still hated his cast. Ellie filled him in on her play and her new best friend Lucy and Ella told him that she and Damien were going to get married in a month.

"In a month?" Matt looked at Gabby to see if she was aware of this, she shook her head.

"And we're going to buy a house and Daddy-!" Ella tugged on his arm, "Where do babies come from? Because I want babies."

Matt's eyes went wide and his heart monitor showed signs of increased stress.

"Alright," Gabby lifted Ella up holding her daughter in her arms, "You can learn were babies come from when you're older like Andy and Ellie. You go and play over there alright." She set girl down and gently pushed her towards her backpack.

"What did Ella do?" Jacob asked Gabby frantically, "Ella you're stupid!" He called at his sister.

"I am not!" Ella turns around and stuck out her tongue, "You're a big meanie-head!" She started to run at him but Ellie stopped her.

"Not now Ella," She warned, "Lets go and look for cute doctors," She prompted.

"No, they're trying to do their jobs," Gabby informed her, "Why don't you just go for a walk with your younger sister. Go and take her to the children's play area in the paediatrics ward." She suggested.

"Fine," Ellie sighed and took her sister's hand and left.

"Marriage? Babies? Boys?" Matt rubbed his forehead with his good hand, "Since when did my little girls grow up?"

"Ella's only pretending, you know that, and I'll talk to her about her baby question, as for Ellie she's ten and gorgeous and she likes boys her own age. I'll talk to her about some woman things this week."

"Ugh!" Andy covered his ears making Jacob laugh.

"You and I had almost the exact conversation a few years ago," Matt looed at his oldest.

Andy took that as his cue to smarten up so he stayed silent. When Matt's dinner came half an hour later Gabby decided that was the time to leave,

'Alright boys," She looked at her son's "Time to go. Say goodbye. We'll come back tomorrow after camp. I'm going to spend the night at home tonight."

"Bye Dad," Andy waved and wheeled his way towards the door.

"I want to stay!" Jacob announced, "In case something else bad happens to Daddy!"

"Nothing bad is going to happen to him here," Gabby tried to reassure her son, "The hospital is going to make him better."

"But he wasn't supposed to get hurt at work!" Jacob countered, "So I'm staying! And you can't make me leave!"

"Jacob," Gabby recognized the signs of increased anxiety and knew it wasn't his fault that he as acting this way. She'd have to make an appointment with the family doctor to get a referral for a child psychologist. "Dad, is going to be alright I know you're worried and we can talk about that."

"No!" Jacob began to cry, "Please, I want to stay!" He begged, looking at Matt to see if that would help him at all.

"Come on," Gabby, with some difficultly picked up Jacob and carried him out into the hallway. He was kicking and screaming and crying and it wasn't until they'd reached the paediatric floor did he calm down a little. But Gabby noticed he was still on edge and miserable. She'd have to make that appointment as soon as she could.

 **TBC**


	36. Labour Day Weekend

**A\N 2:** This one-shot involves lots of characters from the OneChicago universe. I hope you like it and find them in-character. Virtual brownie or cupcakes for anyone who can pick up on the Law & Order references.

* * *

 **Labour Day Weekend**

"Surprise!" Multiple people shouted out as Gabby and Matt entered the house. After being in the hospital for three weeks Matt was finally coming home. He

"Daddy!" Ella ran up to him, "We maded you a sign and a party!" She pointed around to the room and to the sign. "I misseded you!"

Matt lifted Ella up into his arms and kissed the side of her head. He missed bring home and being with his family. Seeing them only when they came to visit wasn't enough. Placing her back down on the ground he looked around and smiled. His children (except for Ellie) along with Diego and is girlfriend her son where all their. He'd figured Gabby woukd have set something up.

"I missed you too Daddy!" Jacob ran up to him, "Can you play with me later? Do you have to go back to work next week?" He didn't want his father to go back to work. It was way to dangerous. Maybe if he had a different job he wouldn't have nightmares every night.

"Yeah sorry bud," Matt ruffled his son's hair and knelt down, "Come here Lucas," He held out his arms to his would be grandnephew.

"Un Ad!" Lucas ran into his arms and grinned as Matt lifted him up.

"I think he was trying to say Uncle Matt," Megan unscrambled the toddlers words, "I'm not sure he-"

"No, its alright," Matt assured her, "He can call me Uncle Matt. That's what Diego calls me. You want to be just like Diego?" Taking the toddler into his arms Matt carried him further into the room and handed him off to Diego who took the boy into his arms happily.

"I want to tell you and Aunt Gabby something," Diego lowered his voice, "Can we go into the kitchen? I'll get Lucas's Sippy cup from the fridge."

"Sure," Matt nodded, "I'm pretty sure we have something he can eat. Although I'm not sure what Gabby has planned," He admitted as he walked with his nephew into the kitchen.

"Go and rest!" Gabby ordered as she saw Matt, "This is your party and you shouldn't be in here!"

"I just wanted to see if you needed any help!" Matt raised his arms in defense, "And I'm fine! Doctor's cleared me. Just another weeks of rest and then I'm back at work." He looked around and saw the piles of food everywhere. He figured that it wasn't all for the party, as they had a picnic the following day. Gabby, being Dominican liked to cook for special occasions, and she was excellent at it. Although Matt knew sometimes it became more of a chore then something she actually liked to do.

"No I don't! Now sit!" Gabby frowned at him. "You can stay in here if you want but stay sitting."

Knowing Gabby wasn't about to back down Matt did as he was told and sat at the kitchen able.

"Mama," Lucas clapped his hands as he saw Megan fill up is water bottle.

"Come here sweetheart," Megan took her son from Diego, "Mommy got you some melon and water. Lets go and see what the other kids are up to." She began to carry him out of the room, "You say thank you to Aunt Gabby and Uncle Matt for the melon."

"Ank ou," Lucas repeated removing the water bottle from his mouth.

"You're welcome Lucas," Gabby smiled at the young toddler. A part of her mussed when her own children were that little.

Waiting until he was sure Megan was out of earshot Diego tuned to his aunt and uncle. A few years ago Gabby told him he could just call them 'Gabby' and 'Matt' as he was an adult. However he didn't want to do that, somehow it didn't feel right.

"Megan and I are going on a two week vacation to Spain in February and I'm going to propose to her." He whispered, "Only Mom and Dad and Eva know so don't say anything. I also want to see about adopting Lucas."

"That's great Diego!" Gabby hugged her nephew. She couldn't be happier for him. "Anna and Peter Stone are going to be at the picnic tomorrow. If you can catch either for them for a minute alone I'm sure they'd be able to at least start you off on the right path."

"Thanks," Diego nodded in appreciation, "But I think Lucas is going to keep me pretty busy tomorrow. Megan is working at Med. I know some of her colleagues will be there but I don't want to ask them to help watch him."

"They will. You know ever year all the adults help watch out for all of the kids."

"Yeah I know, but Lucas isn't my son. I don't want anyone to think I don't want to look after him." Diego was afraid if he didn't look after Lucas well enough at the picnic, it wouldn't look good. He wasn't all that familiar with some of the doctor's and nurses who'd be attending. '

* * *

"He basically is," Matt told him honestly, "And next year he actually could be. Everyone will see how wonderful you are with him."

Looking up briefly from where she was helping put out the food, Gabby checked to see where her children were. She knew Andy, dispite her and Matt's advice was playing basketball. He'd only gotten his cast off a few days ago and needed to limit his physical activity. Nothing could stop him from playing sports though once his cast was off. He alas needed to be doing something so he and some of the older boy went to play basketball.

In the field directly across from her she could spot Jacob and Ella with the many people playing baseball. Over the years baseball had become the game of choice over football. Although she could never pinpoint actually how the switch started; it had to do something with the fact that Peter Stone was an ex professional baseball player, and avid fan.

Looking for Ellie she found her talking to her sometimes friend Isabelle. She and Isabelle were both strong-minded. When they were younger they sued to be quite close but over the past few years the two had drifted further apart. Now, Gabby guessed that Isabelle was jealous of Ellie because of her role in the play. Ellie on the other hand was jealous that Isabelle just got back from a month in Manhattan visiting her Grandfather.

Finishing up setting out the paper plates and cutlery she sat down at the picnic table and thought back to seventeen years ago when the picnic was just starting out. Back then it was only Firehouse fifty-one. Then Gabby invited Antonio, who worked at District twenty-one and it spiralled out from there. Now the annual picnic included firefighter and paramedics from fifty-one, police officers from the twenty-first, doctors and nurses from Chicago Med and Lawyers from the States Attorney's Office.

"You bitch!" Gabby was up in a flash as she heard her daughter frown at Isabelle who had a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Well its true. You can't go to Avery's party." Isabelle pointed out, "So I was just telling the truth."

"What's going on here?" Gabby asked the pre-teens. She looked around for Isabelle's mother but figured she was playing in the baseball game.

"Nothing," Ellie lied. She could handle this. She was already planning on putting something nasty up on her profile. Before she could finish her tablet was slipped out of her hands by her mother.

Quickly reading over what was on the social media site Gabby could see why Ellie was upset. In response to their mutual friend's party invitation Isabelle had commented that Elle wouldn't be able to go because she was to busy being an actress. Gabby knew how much Ellie struggled with not getting to see her friends at all and wanted to do something about this post.'

"You can't read that you know. It's an invasion of Ellie and mine's expectation of privacy. Plus I have freedom of speech so I can say whatever I want."

Gabby was shocked but not surprised at what she was hearing. The girls' parents of course were both brilliant State's Attorney's who'd obviously taught their kids the law. That was great and Gabby's kids knew it too but she didn't appreciate the level of disrespect intended by the ten year olds words. She knew Ellie could be a handful and probably worse but she was trying to get her attitude under control. She could only hope Isabelle's parents were as well.

"Mom its fine," Ellie said again, even though they both knew it wasn't. Kids had to grow up fast now what with all of the social media and movies and TV online at their disposal. Gabby wanted to trust her daughter but knew she was till to young to handle something like this.

"I want that post deleted Isabelle, or I explain to your parents what you said to me."

Isabelle opened her mouth to respond when her father came walking up carrying her four-year-old younger sister Elena.

"Everything alright here?" He inquired looking at Gabby for an answer.

"I was just talking to the girls no big-

"She said I have to take down a post!" Isabelle interrupted, "Dad, tell her that's agansit my constitutional rights."

Peter took a deep breath and sighed. Before their marriage Anna had planned a surprise trip to New York where she had planned for him to see his father. He hadn't seen him in years. His parents getting divorced when he was two. After an incident at the Manhattan District Attorney's office where he worked, his father, Ben Stone quit and left for Europe. After that Peter only saw him on very few occasions. However Peter had to admit one his father did move back to New York he was much more supportive of his baseball aspirations then his mother was. It was his father who; taken him to his first Yankee's game and his father who'd place baseball with him whenever they spent time together. Now, although things still weren't perfect they were much closer. So when his father invited the family to New York for a few weeks Peter agreed.

"What did the post say?" Peter didn't know Gabby that well but figured it most have ben something pretty offensive for here to even suggest that.

"All I said was that Ellie wasn't going to be able to go to Avery's party. She has that stupid musical or whatever."

"Unless you're a mind reader I don't think you know what Ellie is thinking, So you don't have any right to post what you did, Take it down now or your internet privileges will be cut back."

"Yes," Isabelle nodded her head. She deleted her post. Even though he still believed she shouldn't have had to she wasn't about to argue with her father.

"Dad! Dad!" Eight-year-old Nicolas ran up to Peter, "You missed it! I hit a home run and no one could get it! Mom said I'm better they you are."

"It was so cool!" Jacob agreed as he followed his friend, "He hit the ball so hard and Jay was pitching it really hard."

"Alright son," Peter rubbed his son's head, "Now we jut need to work on your pitching, although with that swing maybe you shouldn't be a pitcher." He knew that pitching was a speciality and often pitchers weren't the best hitters.

"I like 3rd Base," Nicholas told his father, 'That's what coach has had be on all summer. I like pitching too but I love third base.

Peter was about to respond when the other six eight-year-old boys all came running up. "Dad and Uncle Will sent us to get you," Liam Halstead offered up an explanation, "And its Mom's turn up at bat and I want to see here beat Dad! Come on!" Nicolas and Jacob ran off with their friends ahead of Peter.

* * *

Sixteen year old Owen Halstead watched in amazement as, Andy, ye again got in slam dunk, "Are you sure you don't play on a team?" He asked for the third time as he threw the ball back to the younger boy.

Although he didn't remember when he was two years old Owen's father adopted him and his last name was changed. When he was eight his mother sat him down and told him about his birth father Jeff who died overseas. Although he was devastated at first to learn his father wasn't actually his 'father' he came to terms with it. His mother and grandmother helped him to come to see that Will wasn't and could never take the place of his birth father. His mother Natalie loved both men differently and Will had never treated Owen any differently then his younger siblings.

"No," Andy shook his head, "I only play in gym class, I've always been good but I'm good at every sport," He admitted, "Why? I'm I really good?" He looked up and wondered. He looked up to and respected Owen who was going into grade eleven.

"Yeah man you are," Owen told him, "You should join a team this fall. Do hockey too if you want but you have a real talent for basketball."

"Although you many have a disadvantage. My Dad was on a rep baseball team when he was eleven. I'm sure it's the same for basketball," fourteen year old Ben Stone told his friend," But you do have real talent. You should for sure try-out for varsity basketball when you get to high school. I'm going to try-out for varsity baseball."

"You'll be on that team for sure," Andy, informed his friend, "You're on the best travel baseball team in the State."

"My Dad wants me to rest my pitching arm for the playoffs," Ben sighed, "I want to be playing though. Basketball isn't as much fun. Plus I'm pretty sure my Dad wouldn't want me to be playing this sport either."

"The food is all ready boys!" Anna came to tell her son and his friends.

"Great! The boys all ran off dropping the basketball, Chuckling Anna followed them.

* * *

Walking into the living room it took Gabby a while to adjust to the quiet. All five of the kids were now at school and so the large house seemed rather empty. She'd already managed to do some laundry and clean the kitchen after the morning hurricane of breakfast. She went over to the couch and sat down beside Matt who was watching the news, "Hey Babe. You need anything?"

Matt turned to face his wife and kissed her on the lips. "Only you," He replied honestly. One of the things he'd missed about being in the hospital was sleeping with his wife. Although with four kids they weren't able to be as intimate with each other as often as they liked.

Gabby moaned as he licked her lips begging for entrance. She granted it, and soon their tongues were battling for control. "Matt…" She struggled to regain composure, "Are you sure this is okay? Did the doctors; clean you for-"

"Yes," Matt nodded his head, "And we have the entire house to ourselves until four when Andy, Jacob and Ella come home. "We could have a shower or go upstairs or even close the blinds in here," He told her.

"A shower sounds like a good idea, I've been cleaning all morning," She leaned in close to Matt and whispered something in his ear that caused him to jump up, She grinned at the effect she had on him and followed.

 **THE END**


	37. Opening Night

**Spoilers:** Chicago PD 1.01 "Stepping Stone" and 1.02 "Wrong Side of the Bars"

 **Warinings:** None

* * *

 **Opening Night**

Jacob tried to get the ball with his stick when he heard the all to familiar sound. Turning his head he tried to concrete on the game instead. Taking the ball onto his tuck he ran with it and shot it on the net, his classmate catching it in his glove.

"Hey Jake!" Brian Anderson pointed to where the fire trucks were racing down the street. A few younger children on the playground running to the fence to get a better look, "And that's the fire chief's car. That's your father right?"

"Uh-huh," Jacob nodded his head as he tried to stop himself from crying. "Come on let's play!" He told his friends as he started to join the game again. The more he started to run however the more dizzy he got, and he soon found it hard to stand.

"I-need-" He stumbled to find words. But his classmates and friends already worried about him went to get a teacher on recess duty.

"What's his name?" The teacher asked the gathering kids urgently.

"Jacob." Multiple kids responded.

Not waiting for Jacob to collapse the teacher gathered him in his arms and ushered him to the nurse's office. He didn't like the signs the young boy was presenting. He carried him into the nurse's station and put him on one of the two beds.

"He started having trouble breathing while playing ball hockey. Not sure if its an allergic reaction or a bad asthma attack or something worse. His names Jacob, I'm not sure how old he is. Although I think his last name is Casey. I taught grade five last year and I'm pretty sure his older brother Andy was in one of the other grad five classes.

"Thank you," The nurse grabbed some gloves and a notebook as she walked towards Jacob. walked towards Jacob, "Alright sweetie, my names Karen. "What' The nurse said with s sweet smile as the teacher left, closing the door, "Can you tell me what's wrong?" She began taking his pulse, surprised and concerned when it came up as high.

"I want my Mom and Dad," Jacob said in a scared voice no louder then a whisper.

Not saying a word just yet Karen took Jacob's temperature and saw it was a little high, "Well for now how about we talk just the two of us." She didn't want to call his parents just yet. She'd seen these symptoms in a few other cases before, but not often so serious in kids so young.

"I want my Dad," Jacob said again as he began to cry, "Please!"

"Why don't you tell me how old you are and what grade you're in." Karen suggested, "Then maybe we can get your teacher to come and talk to you." She knew it was only the beginning of the story year but she hoped Jacob's teacher would have something or say about this incident.

"Grade 2." Jacob blinked back tears, "Ms. Monroe."

"You're in luck. Ms. Monroe is a good friend of mine. You wait right here and I'll go and get her."

"No! Please don't leave me alone!"

Karen felt awful for Jacob immediately. Surely something had to have caused all of this to happen. "Don't worry Jacob, I'm going to call the office and have the page Ms. Monroe here."

"Okay," Jacob said with relief.

"But I am going to step out into the hallway. You just stay there and try to get some sleep."

"I'm not tired," Jacob told her. Even though his eyes were closing. The next thing he knew he woke up and his mother was sitting beside him.

"Mommy!" Jacob began to cry again as he sat up and hugged his mother. "I want to go see Daddy!" He sobbed into her shirt.

Gabby was glad she didn't have class until later. When she had gotten the call from the secretary at the school she was doing prep work. The security had told her Jacob was feeling sick and probably needed to go home. It was only when she arrived at the school did she find out Jacob had all of the signs of a panic attack. After talking to the nurse and explaining things Gabby got Jacob in to see the psychologist in an hour. She used her connections to take the gap in appointment sue to a last minute meeting change.

"Maybe we can go and see Daddy later," Gabby carefully moved him onto her lap, "We can see Daddy later. Right now we're going to go to the hospital to talk to a friend of Grayson's Mom and Dad." She explained.

"Why?" Jacob looked up at his mother, brown eyes on brown eyes. "I'm not sick. I feel better Mommy," He knew he wasn't lying. He did feel better, at least for the most part he did. He was still worried about his father but that was normal, especially sine he'd gotten injured.

"She just wants to talk to you," Gabby didn't know how to explain to her son what ahd happens to him. Anxiety was a concept adults had a hard time grasping. Besides she didn't want to say anything to him until the diagnosis was made. "She had lots of toys and games in her office. And after that we can pick Andy and Ella up from the bus stop. Then maybe we can go see Daddy at work.

"Yay!" Jacob cheered happily, "Let's see Daddy now! Then he can play with me and talk to me." He liked the idea of his father giving him all of the attention he usually gave to his brother and sisters.

"Later Jacob," Gabby stood up, keeping her son in his arms, she picked up his backpack and carried it and Jacob out of the office.

Jacob walked into the room behind Gabby, gripping his mother's legs tightly. He didn't want to talk to his doctor and he didn't want his mother to leave. He did though peak his eyes out to see all of the toys in the brightly painted room. There was a table with an IPad, a large area with blocks and cars. Another area with art supplies and a house and dress up centre Jacob knew Ella would just love.

"Hi Jacob. My names Martha, do you want to play with me?" She offered. From what little Gabby had told her she knew that Jacob was having trouble sleeping. Not eating right and had just had what seemed to be a panic attack? All of this was brought on by his father's injury. However Martha figured it has been going on well before that. Childhood anxiety was hard to diagnosed, as children are often worried and afraid of things. And most doctors were hesitant to label children with any kind of mental health problem.

"No. I want to stay with my Mom."

"That's fine. Your mom can stay here with us in the room. But for a while I want to talk to her so I thought you might want to play. I have lots of LEGO's. I heat you're a really good LEGO builder. Why don't you make me something?"

Jacob stayed silent for a few minutes before nodding his head. He let go of Gaby's legs and walked over to the block carpet. He got out the bins and began to get to work. He was already building a second house when Martha came over.

"Wow! That looks great!" She praised, "Do you want to talk to me about them?"

"No." Jacob shook his head as he kept building.

"Well why don't we talk about something else then. I hear your father's a fire fighter. Do you want to talk about that? Your mom told me he was hurt and injured. That must have been pretty scary."

"No," Jacob shook his head, "Please stop talking about it!" He added, his voice a little louder.

Martha hated making children upset but knew that sometimes talking about what was bothering them helped, "I would have been scared if something like that ever happened to my mom or dad, You must have been brave not to be scared.

"He went in to save someone else," Jacob knocked down a LEGO person angrily, "A stupid candidate who was stupid! Everyone said he was going to be okay. But he won't be!" Jacob began to sob and he ran to Gabby and buried his head in her lap. "I want to go! She's mean!"

"Jacob," Gabby knew what happened was necessary, as hard as it was to watch. "Go clean up your toys and then we can go."

Jacob nodded his head and did what he was told. He walked over to the LEGO's and began to clean up.

"Jacob," Martha walked towards him after getting something out of one of her cupboards, "I know talking about your feelings was very hard. I'm going to let you borrow this book and then next week maybe we can build something in it. But we need to talk to."

Jacob took the book and looked at it. It was book about things to make with LEGO's and it was huge. It looked like his older brother's textbooks. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome,"

Jacob began to walk with his mother out of the office, Turing bake he looked at Martha, "Can my Daddy come with me next week? If he's not working?"

"I think that's a great idea," Martha smiled as she sat down at the desk to write some notes.

"Okay," Jacob walked out of the office with Gabby.

* * *

"Alright," Gabby looked at her children as they stepped out of the car and into the parking lot of the theatre. "This is a important night for your sister and I don't want any of you to do anything to mess it up." She looked directly at Andy.

"I won't do anything," Andy grumbled miserably. He didn't want to go to the opening night for his sister's play but he wasn't going to do anything to wreck it. He knew how important it was for her ns how hard she'd been working on it.

"Alright then lets go," Matt bent down and lifted Ella into his arms. It was going to be very crowded in the theatre and he didn't' want to loose sight of his daughter. At first they weren't going to brig Ella as the performance didn't start until eight but she'd begged to go. She wanted to see her older sister's show. She'd liked the movie when she saw it and Matt and Gabby didn't want to punish her for being so supportive of her sister.

"Are all of these people here for Ellie?" Ella asked as she saw the lobby. All she could see were people.

"No, there are lots of people in the play," Gabby explained. "This is opening night, so all of the people in the play are going to have friends and family here. But remember Uncle Antonio and Aunt Laura are coming tonight. As well as Diego and Eva."

"Is Ellie going to be nervous?" Jacob wondered. He wasn't sure how his sister could do it. He was sure that if he even ahd to speak in front of his class he wouldn't be able to do it.

"I think she is," Gabby knew it was important to let Jacob know he wasn't the only one who felt anxiety. "But she's excited too. Now remember you guys know you're here to support her. Just like she supports you in what you do."

"But she doesn't," Andy pointed out to his parents.

Matt sighed. Andy was right; Ellie got jealous easily and often didn't like supporting her brothers. With all of the kids though and so many different dynamic between them Matt and Gabby wanted them to be supportive of each other. They let the children know it was oaky to feel jealous, as it was a valid emotion But that they need to be supportive of their brother or sister.

"And you know your Mother and I have talked to her about that," Matt informed Andy.

"Look who it is," Antonio walked up to the family and smiled.

"Uncle Antonio!" Jacob ran up to his Uncle at full speed. Antonio lifted him up and held him happily in his arms. "Can I come to work with you next month? When it's a P.A. day, please?"

"I think we can arrange that bud," Antonio told his nephew, "Maybe I can even teach you how to box? Or Diego can." Gabby had told him about Jacob's trouble with anxiety and fear. That was all too real for him. He still remembered perfectly the day Diego was kidnapped, and the weeks and months of the boy's nightmares and panic attacks. Once he got started on boxing it helped as he felt a sense of self-confidence and assurance. However he was still not completely over what had happened.

"Isn't t he rule when they're ten?" Gabby rolled her eyes and let out a laugh.

Laura had made it perfectly clear to Antonio when Diego was born she didn't want her son to know how to box until he was ten. She felt then he'd be old enough to decide on his own if he wanted to do it or not. Plus children couldn't enter competitions until they were thirteen. When Antonio had asked Gabby and Matt about teaching Andy they decided to have Andy wait until he was ten as well. Andy liked boxing but not enough to want to do it all the time. Ellie had no interest in it what so ever. It was going to be Jacob who liked the sport. He had inherited all of his traits and genes from his mother's side of them family. And Antonio and Laura swore he was just like a mini version of Diego.

"That's to long!" Jacob sulked.

"No, your mother's right bud," Antonio knew the rule, "But you can still come to work with me alright."

"Mommy I need to go pee," Ella announced.

"I'll take her," Laura offered, "Let all of you get settled. The show doesn't start for half an hour. I can keep her out here until Eva and Diego come. That way we can walk around."

"Thanks Laura," Matt handed his daughter over to Gaby's sister in-law.


	38. Halloween

**Halloween**

Ellie laughed as she jumped on her friend's back. She got off and grabbed her friend's hands and began spinning around. Tugging on her hand she began running until she saw her crush Peter. Peter, who was two years older then she was played Fredrick in the Sound of Music.

Ellie's friend's giggled and her best friend Lucy whispered something in her ear. They kept looking at Peter and whispering as he looked at them. "Go up and talk to him," Lucy told her, "Just say hi."

"No, I don't want-I can't," Ellie shook her head. She was too nervous to even look at Peter and she was absolutely mortified every time she had to dance with him in the production.

"Yes you can! This has been going on for too long!" Lucy took Ellie's hand and marched her over to Peter, "Hey Peter," She waved "I'm having a Halloween party tonight. You can come over if you want."

"Sure," He shrugged, he turned to Ellie and looked at her, "Are you going to be there?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded her head shyly. She blushed and turned to look away from him. She was never this shy or nervous ever. Everyone always said she had all kinds of energy and never stopped talking.

"Hi Ellie!" Ella ran up to Ellie and began to jumping around her, "We broughted you your sleeping bag that you forgoted!"

"Ella! Go away!" Ellie hissed as she looked for one of her parents so they could take her away.

"Are you Peter?" Ella looked at Peter and asked, "Ellie talks all the time about you. She says-"

"Ella!" Ellie shrieked putting her hand over her younger sister's mouth, "You won't go Trick or Treating if you're mean to me."

Ella removed Ellie's hand and crossed her arms over her chest and frowned "You can't told me what to do!"

"Uh!" Ellie sighed, she finally saw her mother and walked over to her, "Can't we turn her off or something!" She rolled her eyes an took what her mother offered her, "Or put her on a leash or something."

"You were just as bad as when you were younger," Gabby reminded her, "And she was so excited to see you. I just got your brother and sister up from school; they're going to Uncle Kelly's house after dinner. You need to be nicer to Ella she's younger then you are."

"I like Jacob," Ellie looked at her younger brother who was sanding beside her mother looking very disinterested in everything. "I mean Ella copied my costume. Just because I'm being Supergirl she has to be Batgirl. It's not fair. And she can't just ran up and be with my friends. She thinks she's so grown up but she's a baby."

"I am not!" Ella yelled back offended and hurt by her older sister thinking that. "I'm in Kindergarten!"

"A Kindergarten baby," Ellie told her as she scoffed.

"Okay that's enough Ellie. We'll talk later," Gabby told her daughter. She didn't want to embarrass her further in front of her friends. However she didn't want that attitude to continue. She'd have a talk to her later about how she needed to be patient with her younger siblings. "Have fun tonight and text us if you need anything."

"I will," Ellie promised, "Break is over we need to go rehearse now," She ran back towards the auditorium with her friends and cast mates.

Jacob jumped out of the car and raced as fast as she could for the front door. It was already almost six o'clock and he wanted to get trick or treating as soon as possible. He already had his costume, a Chicago police officer on. He stood up on his toes and he rang the doorbell. He heard movement and then the door opened.

* * *

"Trick or treat!" Jacob grinned holing open his empty candy bag.

"Nice try buddy," Kelly chuckled at his godson, "Come on in we're almost ready to go out."

"Diego gave me his beanie to wear Uncle Kelly. And I have a sweater too," Jacob proudly showed off his costume.

"That's cool bud," Kelly grinned as he hugged Ella and then shook Matt's hand.

"You sure you're okay to watch them tonight?" Matt checked with his best friend, "Four kids hyped up on sugar isn't always easy," Matt spoke from experience.

"No, no it's all good. Andy and Ellie are both at parties; we can take Jacob and Ella. You and Gabby deserve a night on your own. KJ and Lillianna have been really looking forward to having Jacob and Ella over."

"Alright Man," Matt watched as Kelly's wife helped three-year-old Lillianna with her coat and mittens. She was wearing a princess dress but since it was cold she needed a coat overtop of it. KJ was a superhero firefighter and had on a unique costume of a firefighter jacket and a cape. He claimed that fire fighters were like real superhero's so they should wear capes.

It took another fifteen minutes before the four children were ready to go. Since Lillanna and Ella were both very young Kelly brought a wagon with him just in case they got tired later. For the most part he and Matt stood at the driveways of the houses and watched as the kids ran and got candy. Always asking if they used their manners. As the night went on Ella and Lillianna got a little tired but they wanted to keep going. However by a little after eight thirty they were both sitting in the wagon and falling asleep.

Getting back to Kelly and Brianne's house each child had a huge bag full of candy. Jacob and K.J. were wired and planning on watching a movie but Ella and Lillianna were already asleep and Kelly and Matt moved them up to Lillianna's room. After getting Ella out of her costume and into pyjama's Matt walked back downstairs to see Jacob.

"Hey buddy," Matt called, "I'm going to go now. You have fun and remember to listen to Uncle Kelly and Aunt Brianne," Matt ruffled Jacob's dark hair.

"I will Daddy," Jacob promised as he turned his head to look at where Brianne was getting a Halloween movie set up for him and K.K to watch, "K.J. and I are going to trade candy and watch movies. I won't get homesick I promise." He said referring to how when he was younger he used to get too scared to stay overnight anywhere. Even with Kelly and Brianne who were practically like second parents.

"It's okay if you do Jacob," Matt told him honestly. He and Gabby knew he has severe anxiety problems and often had panic attacks in different situations. However they weren't able to yet able to pinpoint actually what caused him to have panic attacks. That being said they didn't know the best ways to help him yet. He was still in therapy two times a month, which seemed to be helping a great deal but he was still having lots of problems.

"I hate having them," Jacob said in a tone just above a whisper.

"I know bud," Matt hugged him. He hated seeing his son in so much pain. Jacob was such a sweet and caring kid. "Remember though if you do need to come home you can always call. Mom or I will come and pick you up."

"I know Daddy. Cam I watch the movie now?" He asked. The movie had been loaded and K.J. had already laid out all of the candy he was willing to trade.

"Of course. I love you."

"I love you too." Jacob said as he walked to sit down beside K.J. and dumped out all of his candy.

* * *

"Wow!" Matt walked into the house and smelled something amazing cooking. It smelled like a Dominican Dish that he couldn't pronounce. It was Gabby's Abuela's mother's recipe that ahd been passed down. Gabby's mother had changed it slightly because Antonio had an anaphylactic allergy to shellfish. Although if Antonio wasn't eating with them Gabby liked to use the original recipe. It was more authentic. 'That smells delicious!" Matt called out as he walked into the kitchen and through into the dinning room. "What's the occasion?" He wondered wrapped his arms around Gabby who was lighting candles at the dinning room table. The light already dimmed.

Turning around in Matt's arms Gabby gave him a kiss on the lips. "I need a reason to spoil my husband?" She asked as she gave him another quick kiss on the lips. "And it should be ready any minunte." She walked into the kitchen.

Matt and Gabby enjoyed a nice romantic evening at home without the children. Gabby attempted to clean up and do the dishes after, however Matt walked into the kitchen and began kissing her.

"Matt," Gabby moaned. Even after all of these years she still felt weak at the knees every time he nibbled on her neck, "I'm not going to be able to finish the dishes."

"Good," Matt's hand began to roam her body.

Gabby turned around and began to kiss him; he backed her into the counter and lifted her up onto it. He positioned himself in between her legs and then resumed kissing her.

 **THE END**


	39. The Incident

**A\N:** I've been thinking of doing something like this for a long time and I had a few different options in mind. Those on Twitter I talked to know how hard I looked at each option. In the end though I found this one fits better in the direction I want the series to go, especially for certain characters. I know this situation isn't very realistic buts it's fan fiction.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

 **Spoilers:** Chicago PD'S 1.01 "Stepping Stone' and 1.02 "Wrong Side of the Bars"

 **Warnings:** None

* * *

 **The Incident**

Jacob took a deep breath and sighed as he looked around the squad room. He was starting to wish he'd gone to the school age daycare program at his school. Having a day off from school was supposed to be fun, so far all he'd done at District twenty-one was see how they loaded fingerprints and had a mug shot picture taken. He wanted to do, so much more. Like seeing an interrogation of a suspect and learning how to use a gun. But his parents said he was way to young o do any of those things.

"Diego!" Jacob jumped up from his cousin's desk as he and his partner came up the stairs, "Can I go with you on a call now? Tio Antonio sent everyone else halfway across the city."

Diego narrowed his eyes at his younger cousin, "Telling me you were eavesdropping isn't a good way to get what you want," He grabbed a few tings off his desk.

"Tio Antonio came into the room and started yelling something. I couldn't help but overhear it," Jacob pointed out, "Please! I'm so board!"

Diego and his partner were supposed to go to help at the crime scene. And since he had just been promoted and his father was head of the Intelligence Unit he didn't want to do anything that would be inappropriate. He was told his only job was to keep Jacob out of trouble, but also support his growing interest in police work.

"Go and ask your father man," Tyler Owen's encouraged.

'Thank you!" Jacob smiled happily, "I promise all I want is one ride in the squad car. I can see all of the cool buttons, I won't ask my parents to show me how to use a gun for a month," He bargained.

Diego had to laugh, not only would Jacob make an excellent police officer he'd be a good lawyer too. His aunt and uncle were always mentioned how he knew how to negotiate his way out of anything, He was very smart.

Walking out of his office Antonio went to comment on why his two detectives hadn't left yet when Jacob came up to him, "Please Tio Antonio!" Jacob looked up at him, "Please just one ride! Mom and Dad don't have to know!" Antonio had to shake his head; it was scary at how much Jacob looked like Diego. And when he was eight years old Diego often asked him those same questions.

Wanting to respect his sister's wishes, but also knowing he was board Antonio looked down at Jacob, "One ride. You listen to your cousin and to Detective Owen's. You disobey anything and you won't be able to come back here for two months. You understand?"

"Yes Sir," Jacob nodded his head excitedly. He ran over to Diego and Tyler, "Lets go!"

Turning down the radio so Jacob couldn't hear what was going on Diego stopped at a spotlight. So far everything was going all right and Jacob was delighted at everything they could do.

"This is so much cooler then any fire truck ever!"

"Don't let your father hear you say that, he'll never let me or Tio Antonio heat the end of it," Diego chuckled. His uncle was always a little upset Jacob was more into police stuff then fire fighting,

"I won't," Jacob turned his attention to a situation unfolding in front of them. A man was crossing the road, just barley missing cars that had to slam on their breaks. He was being chased by two uniformed police officers.

Turning up the car radio Diego was able to hear a little bit about what had happened. The suspect was armed and had already shot a civilian. Dispatch was calling for back up. Diego looked at his partner and then at Jacob. He knew he'd get in serious trouble for doing this but he didn't think Jacob was in any danger. He'd rather go and help and prevent trouble.

"Get down on the floor and stay there!" Diego turned and looked at Jacob, "Do what I say!" He repeated louder and with more force as Jacob opened his mouth to try and argue.

"Fine," Jacob sighed and did as he was told. He heard Diego and Tyler get out of the car and the doors lock. He could hear multiple people talking outside the car and wanted to know what was going on. This was his one chance to see something cool and he was missing it. His parents didn't think he was old enough to handle guns or bullets. If he proved them wrong they'd start trusting him more.

Unlocking the car Jacob jumped out and ran after where most of the noise was coming from. He hid behind a garage can in the alley and peered out. The suspect had taken one of the first uniformed officers hostage. Diego raised his gun and then everything seemed to happen so fast. All Jacob could see was blood and lots of it.

"No….No…No!" Jacob stumbled out of his hiding place and began yelling.

"Jacob!" Diego bolted over to his cousin and picked him up. He held him away from the dead body. "We need another bus!" Diego told his partner, "And I'm not going with Internal Affairs until I know he's safe," He mentioned. He knew internal affair wouldn't to talk to him, like they did anytime a police officer was involved in a shooting but he wasn't about to leave his terrified, eight year old cousin alone.

* * *

Gabby walked into the waiting room and straight towards her nephew. After getting her son calmed down enough to get some sleep she was going to get some answers. She knew letting Jacob go to the police station was a bad idea, she didn't like him around guns. This though was so much worse. Why in the world Diego would get involved with something like that was beyond her imagination.

"What in the world where you thinking Diego? And I swear if Antonio told you-"

"I don't know Aunt Gabby," Diego was still trying to answer those questions himself. In hindsight he realized Jacob would have never listned to his order. Not when all he wanted was to be bale to see some action. "But Dad never told me to do anything. I don't even know why I was the one who pulled the trigger. I mean he was holding another officer hostage I… Is Jacob alright?"

"For now," Gabby eyed him, "But don't think you're off the hook. I said no ride-alonngs. How can an eight year old be that convincing? I'm going to have a long talk with Antonio too."

"Can I see Jacob later?" Diego asked, "Or-"

"I came out to get you," Matt stepped into the waiting room.

"Fine," Gabby didn't think it was a good idea but she wanted to talk to her brother anyways. He had gone to the cafeteria to get food. She sat down in one of the chairs in the waiting room and decided to wait for her brother.

Diego followed his uncle down the paediatric psychiatry hallways. Neither one knowing what to say, Diego knew he couldn't be happy with him, he just wished he'd say something. He'd seen his uncle yell before? Plenty of times, why wasn't he yelling now?

'You know he worships you," Matt finally spoke as they got to Jacob's room, "He always has. You've always been his favourite. He doesn't think any of this is your fault. I don't want to say what should have happened, I don't know. But I do know that his whole life has just changed. This isn't going to be something he easily forgets."

"I'll be there for him whenever he needs, twelve AM, three PM, I don't care. I love that kid. I never want anyone to see what he did. Or to have the nightmares, the PTSD that I had."

Matt had momently forgotten that Diego ahd been kidnaped for forty-eight hours when he was eight. The perusing days and months consisted of sleepless nights, nightmares and many appointments with his therapist.

"Can I tell him?" Diego asked. He thought maybe if Jacob knew someone knew what he went through it would help. Although he knew Matt had faced death before as well. "I just… it might make him feel a little better knowing that Andy and Ellie don't even know. I'll just tell him that some bad guys took me and hurt me and that it took me along time to get over it. I'll tell him even though it's so hard, he needs to be brave and let people help him. And then I'll give him a hug and stay with him until he falls asleep."

Matt thought about it for a few minutes. It might make Jacob more afraid but as this point he was refusing to talk to anyone. It was worth a shot if it even got him to think about talking. If anyone could get him to talk it was Diego.

"Alright."

"Thank you," Diego walked into the room and closed the door. It was a semi-private room but luckily there wasn't another child currently in the other bed. Diego walked over to Jacob's bed and sat in the uncomfortable chair, "Hey buddy."

"Hi," Jacob didn't move from where he was laying looking outside the window.

"I'm so sorry all of this happened to you. I can answer some questions if you want, I know seeing something like that can be scary." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Talking about how he was kidnapped was still so hard for him, "When I was eight I was taken by these bad guys my dad was trying to put away. While I was wit them I saw them shoot and kill people. I can still see it all happen in my mind. I didn't want to talk to anyone for the longest time, but that only made me really sick. I'm only better now because I was brave enough to as for help. It doesn't have to be now Jacob but you really do need to let us help you. There are so many people who care about you and who want to help you, But for right now you just rest and get some sleep. I'm not going anywhere."

Jacob turned around so he was facing Diego. His face was red and swollen from crying. Reaching for Diego's hand he squeezed it hard and closed his eyes. It took half an hour for the medicine to kick in and for him to get some rest.

 **THE END**


	40. Surprise News Part 1

**A\N:** So as you know I've put all of the one-shots into one story document making them easier to access and read. Unfortunately I've discovered some mistakes in them concerning the characters and everything. Going forward I'm going to try to make things more consistent. I know this one is short but I feel as if it ended in the right place. I have a list of possible future one-shots for this series if you want to see it. Also of you have any ideas please let me know.

 **Disclaimer:** Anything you recognize isn't mine.

 **Spoilers:** None

 **Warinings:** None

* * *

 **Christmas Part One**

Flipping over the stick Gabby couldn't believe what she was seeing, Her stomach dropped and her heart skipped beating as she sat down on the toilet seat. She could have sworn in was just bad stomach flu and nothing else. Although to rule out, what she thought was a five percent possibly she'd taken two pregnant tests. Now it was official she was pregnant. She has just turned forty and she was going to have a baby. She knew all of the risks and possible serious pregnancy complications to having a baby forty and over. She was scared, but also concerned. She and Matt already had four children, and that was hard enough having a fifth one would only cause more problems, Slowly standing up put the tests t the bottom of the trash can and washed her hands. She didn't want Matt to find them until she had the chance to tell him. It was Christmas Eve and she and Matt were hosting her family over the next day. So everyone was busy doing something. She needed to go downstairs and start getting the kitchen cleaned and prepared for the big Christmas dinner. It didn't matter if she could barley stand the sight of food; this was something she needed to do.

"Mom!" Andy met her as she exited the master bedroom, "Ellie's singing stupid Broadway songs and its giving me a headache," The thirteen year old heavily sighed, "And she said that there's no way you and Dad are going to go to all of my hockey games. But my hockey games are cheaper then her stupid play!"

"Andy," Gabby got to the top of the stairs and sighed placing a hand over her forehead. She decided not to feed into the competitive nature of het two eldest children, who were both extremely talented in there own ways. Ellie was still playing a Von Trapp child in a Broadway level production of the Sound of Music. After June when the run ended she was already in the running to play Matilda in the musical of the same name. Since she was now certain she wanted to continue doing Broadway and acting Matt and Gabby were looking at getting her an agent and going through all the paperwork involved in making he a professional actor.

Andy was an elite level hockey player and had recently been selected on a Chicago Blackhawks U 15 team. He was playing with boys two years older then him and was already the best on the team by a landslide. Agents and coaches from the Chicago Blackhawks had already approached Gabby and Matt to express interest in Andy.

"But Mom-" Andy tried again.

"Andy your sister can sing if she wants to. And you father and I will try to get to all the games we can but remember we have Jacob and Ella to," She told him thinking about how the new baby would only make mattes worse.

"She's so stupid," Andy mumbled under his breath as he walked down the stairs.

"Mommy!" Ella raced to Gabby, as she got downstairs, "You feel better?" The four year old wanted to know as she followed her mother into the kitchen, "I want to help you clean."

"I feel a little better and of course you can help," Gabby lifted Ella up onto the counter, "Ellie!" Gabby called for her oldest daughter, "You said you wanted to help to!"

"Coming Mom!" Ellie yelled from the basement. In September and October the basement had been majorly renovated. It now had two bedrooms; a washroom and a large sitting are with a TV and foosball table. Andy and Ellie had moved into the two rooms downstairs giving every child their own bedroom. Something that had made things a lot easier, especially around bedtime. There was now an extra room upstairs, which would be converted into a nursery before July.

By the time Matt got back from his construction job Gabby and the girls had finished cleaning the kitchen and Andy had cleaned out the garage as well as shovel the driveway. Jacob had gone along to help Matt since the only thing he really wanted to do was be with his father. Ever since he'd seen Diego shoot and kill someone in September he'd been having problems sleeping and even more anxiety. Before the police ride along he was already having anxiety but after the incident was only becoming worse. He'd already missed a lot of days of school due to his anxiety and possible PTSD and not even Diego was able to help him out lately.

"Hi Jake how was-" Ellie asked her younger brother as he walked into the house but Jacob only ran up the stairs and slammed the door to his bedroom. "What happened?" Ellie asked her father as Matt entered the house. Out of all of her siblings she'd been the one most worried about Jacob and the one who wanted to help him.

"He had an anxiety attack," Matt replied as he put his winter gear into the coatroom closet, "Right now he's just really upset about everything," He shook his head. He and Gabby had talked and discussed about putting Jacob on anti anxiety medication but Gabby didn't want her son to be on medication at such a young age. She knew about all of the side effects. However lately she was wondering if it was what they needed to do.

"Girls, give us a minute," Matt said to his daughters. He wanted to talk to his wife alone.

"Sure, come on Ella lets go watch a Christmas movie." Ellie offered her hand for her younger sister to take.

"Okay Ellie," Ella happily walked off with her older sister.

"What happened?" Gabby moves from where she has been cleaning the stove to the kitchen table where Matt was sitting. "All you were doing was repairing a heater in someone's house."

"This old man, he's so sweet and he really likes Jacob I think. Anyways he asked Jacob what he wanted from Santa and Jacob said…" Matt closes his eyes. He wasn't sure if he could repeat this to his wife. "He said he wanted a gun so he could hurt himself. Then he started to cry and shake and. Luckily we were able to calm him down."

"He wanted to hurt himself?" Gabby couldn't believe her eight-year-old boy was having those thoughts. "How does he even know how to think like that?" She began to cry she felt like someone was ripping out a piece of her heart. She wanted to help him but she didn't know how. "In January I want him started on medication. In the meantime I'm going to talk to him about some things. Maybe I'll sleep with hi in his room tonight if he wants."

"I already spoke to him about how hurting himself is wrong," Matt told her, 'I told him he needs to say he needs help even though its so hard. I told him lots of stories I know and I told him he could talk to Diego tomorrow. He really loves Diego."

"Yeah I know," Gabby shook her head. Sometimes it was hard for her not to somewhat blame her nephew for all of this. If Diego hadn't shot the suspect none of this would have happened. Diego however had been nothing but helpful in every way possible and Gabby knew he already blamed himself.

"Where's Andy?" Matt wondered, "Is he downstairs? I told him he needed to finish all his chores before he played video games," Matt had seen the sloppy way the garage and shed had been cleaned up and he didn't like it.

"Yeah I think so," Gabby nodded and before Matt could stand up she blurted out, "I'm pregnant."

 **TBC**

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 **A\N:** Please let me know what you thought.


	41. Surprise News Part 2

**A\N 1:** I'm so sorry its taken me awhile to update this series. Especially after leaving you on a kind of cliff-hanger ending the last time. I hope you like this one and please remember to review.

 **A\N 2:** I am so sorry, however this one-shot will be the last one in the series. I have recently encountered a Dawsey writing burnout. I have tried to work past it but it just caused me headaches and stress. I didn't want to finish the series this way. As I had more ideas and one-shot ideas but right now I can't write them.

 **Disclaimer:** Anything you recognize I don't own.

 **Spoilers:** None

 **Warinings:** None

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 **Surprise News Part 2**

Matt turned around and looked at his wife. Did he hear right? Seeing her look really nervous he decided he needed to say something. "Pregnant… Gabby that's great," He pulled her into a hug and soothed her, "What's wrong?" He pulled back and asked, although he was pretty sure he knew what was going through her mind.

"I'm forty Matt," She began to cry, "And we already have four kids. I'm just so afraid something is going to go wrong. So many things could go wrong," She began to cry again, "And I should really be focused on the kids right now. Especially with Jacob needing so much help and Andy and Ellie being so busy and-" Matt cut her off with a soft kiss.

"We'll figure it out," He promised her, "But for now you need to rest. Go upstairs while I look after things for awhile." He told her.

"I'll go upstairs but I'm going to talk to Jacob," Gabby told him. She turned and walked upstairs. What she found when she got to Jacob's room broke her heart. Jacob was curled up on his bed sobbing.

"Jake," Gabby walked into the room and over to her son, she took him into her arms and held him as he cried, "We're going to get you better alright," She promised him. She didn't want to tell him that it was okay, as she knew that what he was going through was horrible. However it was okay that he was crying and she didn't want to make him feel like that was wrong, "You can talk to me or your father or Ellie or Andy alright. You can cry all you want. Do you want to call Diego or Tio Antonio?" She asked knowing those were the two people he was most comfortable talking with.

"Alright," Jacob nodded his head.

Gabby got out her cell phone and handed it to her son, "Here, call Tio Antonio. Talk to him and then give this back to me," She instructed. "I'll be downstairs," She kissed his forehead and then left.

When she got into the kitchen what she saw made her happy but didn't surprise her. Ellie had helped Ella up onto the counter and was looking through her IPad with her little sister. They were discussing what Spanish recipe to make for dinner. It has become a tradition to have a traditional Dominican or Spanish dish on Christmas Eve. As Ellie told her younger sister the options she gave her opinion. Gabby didn't want to disturb them so she was just about to leave when Ella saw her.

"Mommy!" She yelled excitedly, "We're making dinner. Daddy said we could!" She said and she jumped down off the counter and ran over to her mother and took her hand, "And Daddy said don't let you help," She repeated what her father had told her.

"Yeah, are you okay?" Ellie asked as she put down her IPad, "Do you still have the flu?" Gabby could see she was concerned and she took a deep breath. She knew she needed to tell the kids soon. They'd figure out she was pregnant soon, especially Ellie and Andy who were old enough to put the pieces together. She decided to tall to Matt about telling them after Christmas was over.

"I'm alright, letting to make dinner was my idea, Daddy must have taken it," Gabby lied, "I think you're old enough to make dinner all on your own," She told her daughter That part wasn't a lie, she did think Ellie was ready, "I was making meals at your age."

Ellie smiled, she loved being given more reasonability, "Okay then, Ella did you hear that I'm in charge. If you're helping you have to listen to me." She knew her younger sister didn't always like to listen.

"Ellie's right," Gabby backed up her older daughter, "If you're going to help you need to listen and be nice."

"I will," Ella promised, she loved cooking too and wanted to learn as much as she could. Her mother was sometimes more patient with her but Ellie was getting better as she got older.

"Good well then I'll leave you to it," She turned and left the kitchen. She went into the living room and looked at the decorated Christmas tree and found herself smiling. She couldn't believe how happy her life was. She'd been married to Matt for fourteen years now and most of those years were very good. They'd had their ups and downs of course. The hardest being when her mother had died, and when her father had dies this past year; after seeing his wife die Jose' had never been the same and had gone into a depression that lasted until he died as well. Now Gabby could only hope that her parents were reunited.

"I love you," Matt walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, "Thank you for giving me so much."

Gabby turned in his arms and kissed him on the lips, "I should be thanking you. We need to tell them soon, I'm pretty sure Ellie already has her suspicions. Can we telling them after tomorrow?"

"Whenever you want," Matt kissed her on the lips.

"Ugh," Jacob groaned as he walked into the room. He still didn't like seeing his parents kissing. Walking over to his mother he handed her back her cell phone, "Here. Tio Antonio says I can call him whenever I want. And he' going to talk to you tomorrow about having me see a police therapist," He told her.

"He what?" Gabby couldn't help but be outwardly surprised, "Sweetie, you're okay with this?" She was surprised that Jacob wasn't upset. Especially considering he hated seeing is current therapist. She was also surprised Jacob would be allowed to see a CPD therapist but then she remembered it was probably allowed since Jacob saw a police officer shoot and kill someone. It wasn't a bad idea and if Jacob was so on board either it her brother must have said something right. Gabby had always said Jacob was basically a miniature version of Diego, and it showed with how well Antonio seemed to be able to handle him, He was good with all of his nieces and nephews but he was especially close to Jacob.

"And he told me a secret" He added with a sly grin, "He said I can't tell you until you find out tomorrow."

"Oh he did," Gabby laughed. "I'm glad talking to Tio Antonio helped. What did he say to make you want to see this therapist?" She wondered.

"He said that real police officers talk to him. Diego's going to see him and Diego's going to take me," Jacob told his parents, "I'm going to be like a real police officer."

Gabby was almost certain that ninety percent of the actual police officers that went to see this therapist wouldn't talk about their problems. In her experience most of them didn't like talking about feelings. Fire fighters were the same way. However she wanted Jacob to talk about his problems so he'd get better, so she didn't know what to say in response to that. That was why she as glad when Matt decided to take Jacob outside to play in the snow.

Ellie ahd been able cook most of the meal on her own without Gabby's help however towards the end, when she was already stressed out Ella got stressed out as well. That didn't end well so Gabby went in and helped out. She sent Ella to go tell Jacob and her father dinner was almost ready then she helped Ellie. After dinner was over and Andy and Jacob cleaned up and did the dishes the family watched Christmas movies. Ella was the only one who still really believed in Santa Clause. Jacob wanted to believe but he was having trouble with it all. He didn't know how Santa could do it in one night if magic wasn't real. After all of the children had gone to bed Gabby and Matt put all of the Christmas presents under the tree and then went to bed themselves.

The next morning Ella woke them up when she ram into their room announcing Santa had come and brought lots of presents. Gabby who ha been feeling sick for a few hours had to run and throw up again as her daughter's jumping made her sick. After checking on his wife Matt took Ella downstairs and waited for the other children to get up. Ella had woken up everybody and Andy was not impressed. Although he didn't stay mad for long as he loved his baby sister too much. Just as Gabby was walking down the stairs the doorbell rang and Gabby answered it. She greeted Diego and Megan and took Lucas into her arms kissing the toddler's cheek. She didn't miss the sparkling engagement ring on Megan's finger and smiled in delight. She loved Megan and knew she was perfect for Diego. That must have been the surprise that Jacob was talking about.

"You guys, Diego and Megan have so-"

"You're engaged!" Ellie jumped on and ran closer to get a better look at the engagement ring, "Oh its so pretty! I didn't know Diego had good taste," She smirked smiling up at her older cousin, "You're so lucky you're getting married. I already have my wedding all planned out," She began to explain, "So id you need any help let me know."

"I'll think about it," Megan chuckled at the pre-teens excitement,

"Can I be the Flower Girl?" Ella asked as she walked up to Diego and Megan and looked up at them with pleading puppy dog eyes.

"Ella," Gabby shook her head, "It; not polite to ask something like that. Now come with me to answer the door.

"Fine," Ella went off and walked with her mother. When Gabby opened the door she smiled happily when she saw Eva and her husband along with their now seven-month-old daughter Anna. "Anna!" She waved happily, "Aw, you're so cute. Eva can she help me hand out the presents?" She asked hopefully.

"That would be a great help," Eva smiled at her younger cousin, "You're so good with her and with Lucas."

"I'm going to be a preschool teacher when I grow up," Ella informed her.

"Well I think you'd be great at it," Eva carried Anna into the living room and sat her down beside where Lucas was playing. Anna and Lucas smiled at each other, the two almost cousins quite used to each other now.

Antonio and Laura arrived a few minutes later. Once they were settled in Ella was allowed to stat handing out the presents. She tried to get Lucas and Anna to help but they were more interested all of the wrapping paper. So after awhile she just gave up. Everyone, especially the children got spoiled. Some of the bigger gifts for the children included a very good pair of hockey skates for Andy, a session with a professional photographer to have headshots made for Ellie, an actual woodworking station for Jacob and a mini classroom kit for Ella.

The rest of the day went off rather well and the dinner was excellent. Gabby was very please that Ellie was now able to help a lot more then she was the previous year. Soon it was the next day and as Gabby looked at her children eating breakfast she knew she needed to tell them she was pregnant. Looking at them, talking and laughing she realized how they were growing closer as they got older. She knew a baby would completely mess up the dynamic of the household. Since she had gotten ad morning sickness though she knew she needed to tell them now. She didn't want them to figure it out on their own.

"Before you guys finish and leave there's something your father and I need to talk to you about," Gabby gave her husband a knowing look. She walked towards the table and sat down at the head of it, "Nothings wrong," She assured them as she sae they all began to look worried, "It's good news actually or well…. We think its good news." She took a deep breath and decided she just needed to tell them, "I'm pregnant. You're going to have a new baby brother or sister."

"What?" Andy almost choked on his toast. He started at his parent in disbelief, "Can't you guys keep your hands off each other!" He angrily pushed his chair out and stormed downstairs,

"You don't talk to us like that young man!" Matt went to follow him, only stopping when Gabby placed a hand on his arm.

Ellie shook her head, "I can't believe I'm saying this but I agree with Andy. Aren't four kids enough? And we're all so busy now and so much older. A baby is just going to wreck everything," She sulked.

"Well I'm sorry you feel that way kiddo but it's happening," Gabby told her, "I know it's a huge shock. But we'll all have to adapt alright."

"Yeah fine," Ellie stood up and placed her dish and cup in the sink before going downstairs to her bedroom.

"A baby?" Jacob was next to talk. "I guess that's okay," He shrugged his shoulders. He didn't really have an opinion either way. He didn't remember Ella as a baby that much and he liked both Lucas and Anna. "Can I go play now?" He asked, when Matt nodded his head he put his plate and glass sin the sink and then left the kitchen.

"Yay! I'm going to be a big sister!" Ella cheered happily, "I want a baby sister," She decided.

Gabby laughed at her daughter's excitement, "Well we'll have to wait a little while to find out if it's a boy or a girl. In the meantime you can help me do some extra things around the house if you want."

"Okay Mommy," Ella happily nodded her head.

 **THE END**

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 **A\N:** Thank you so much to everyone who has supported and enjoyed this series. I'm going to keep my brainstorming and future ideas in hopes I might get motivation to finish again one day.


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